Deja Vu
by moonchaser1
Summary: Complete. After Lita speaks her mind to Bischoff, she is attacked by Rosie & Jamal. All three members of Team Extreme are affected. Spoilers: Set after the Oct. 1, 2002 episode of Raw, except that I am taking creative license to change what happened.
1. Chapter One

So, does it feel like maybe you've read this little ditty before? That's very possible. I'm just re-uploading stories that I use to have on here previously. Somehow, I lost my account, so I've been slowly putting these older storiesback. If you haven't read this one, I hope you enjoy it. I actually liked how it turned out. Please take a moment and leave a review!

* * *

Title: Déjà Vu (1?)  
Category: WWE  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: All the characters in this story are owned by WWE. I own none.  
Distribution: Private. Please ask me.  
Summary: After Lita speaks her mind to Bischoff, she is attacked by Rosie & Jamal. All three members of Team Extreme are affected.  
Spoilers/Notes: Set after the 10/1/02 episode of "Raw", except that I am taking creative license and changing what really happened.

* * *

"Oh my God." Jeff thought, staring at the monitor in the men's locker room. Raw had just kicked off, and Bischoff had called Lita to the ring. He started to berate her about comments she'd made about Smackdown currently being the better show. Jeff didn't disagree with her. "I have a really bad feeling about this." 

On the screen, Jeff watched mesmerized as Lita lay into Bischoff, telling him how the wrestlers risk their lives for him night after night. They would respect him more if he'd show them a little respect.

"Whoa, Hardy." Jeff was slapped on the back as Booker T approached him, coming to stand behind him for a better view of the monitor. "Little Red's a little frisky tonight, huh?"

Goldust walked up to join his tag team partner beside the youngest Hardy. "If you ask me, the girl's got a death wish," Goldust said to the other two men in the room. He continued, "No one speaks to that jerk that way without some type of punishment."

"I know that first hand," Jeff muttered, keeping his eyes glued to the screen. Bischoff had certainly been giving him a rough way to go since he stood up for himself a few weeks back, booking him into matches with the Big Show and other assorted handicap matches. He turned to look at the other two. "Guys, this doesn't smell right."

Back in the ring, things started to get extremely dangerous, as Bischoff called out his two goons, Rosie and Jamal, under the guise of needing three minutes. As soon as Lita heard the words "three minutes", she knew she'd been set up. Nervously, she glanced all around the ring, seeking out the attackers she knew would be coming. Almost catlike, Rosie was suddenly on her right side, while Jamal approached her from the left. Lita sought out an escape route, which seemed to be no where in sight.

"Hardy, LOOK!" screamed Booker T, drawing Jeff's attention back to the screen. "Those punks are after your girl!" Jeff watched in horror for a second while Lita was pursued by the menacing figures. Cursing profusely, Jeff bolted from the locker room, running full speed for the ring, Booker T and Goldust just steps behind him.

His mind raced as fast as his feet did as he raced to the ring to save his friend. Jeff couldn't let them hurt her. Not now. Not while her recovery was going so well. Rosie and Jamal were ruthless and wouldn't think twice about slamming the pretty redhead around the mat. They'd seriously hurt her without thinking twice about it. He couldn't let that happen. With that thought, he rushed even faster towards the redhead and the chaos in the ring.

Stalked like an animal. That's how Lita felt as she looked feverishly around the ring for an exit. She had been completely set up by Bischoff, and now he was going to make her pay for her earlier words. Bischoff was cruel, and his goons Rosie and Jamal were no better. They had no respect for anyone, much less an injured woman.

She darted out of Rosie's grasp, ducking towards the far corner, hoping to jump out of the ring. However, Jamal was there, catching the redhead by the arm, keeping her from leaving the ring. Bischoff had rolled out of the ring, and was now standing on the outside, laughing maniacally at the situation unfolding inside the ring. Jamal spun Lita around to face him. She pleaded to him, holding her neck firmly, as if to show him that she was already hurt. Jamal laughed evilly, walking closer to Lita. Lita backed away, fear in her eyes, only to back directly into Rosie.

"Please, no. Don't do this," she begged.

Rosie laughed, catching the redhead. Lita turned on him suddenly, doing what her instincts taught her to do long ago. She took a swing at him, hitting him squarely across his cheek. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to phase the brute and only seemed to make him more angry.

"Jamal, show this bitch what happens when you disrespect the boss," Rosie said to his brother, his eyes trained squarely on Lita.

Lita's eyes widened in fear. "No, please. I didn't mean it. I won't say anything el…" her words were cut off as she was grabbed from behind and picked up by Jamal.

"Nooooooo!" Lita screamed futilely, as Jamaal hoisted her up, planting her horizontically on his shoulders, then falling backwards, letting his weight land fully on her. As she crashed to the mat, she was knocked a little silly, her head bouncing off the mat with a loud thud. She instinctively tried to raise her arm towards her neck, the pain she felt throughout her body immeasurable.

As if to add insult to injury, Rosie climbed the turnbuckle, turning to laugh at the crowd, pointing to his motionless victim laying on the mat. The crowd booed, screaming their disapproval. Down at ringside, Bischoff led a count off for Rosie, and on three, Lita's situation got even worse as Rosie dove off the turnbuckle, landing squarely on the redhead. Lita was knocked out completely, succumbing quickly to darkness. She lay unmoving on the mat.

Just then Jeff burst through the curtain, running full speed down the ramp to help his fallen friend. Diving into the ring, he came to his feet, leaping at Jamal, pounding on the much larger man with all his might. Behind him, he heard Booker T and Goldust enter the ring, taking on Rosie.

Jeff's anger blinded him, and although Jamal was much larger, Jeff was quicker. Jeff matched Jamal blow for blow, pounding on the larger man, using his quickness to get in a few additional licks and kicks to Jamal's mid-section.

Seeing that they were outnumbered, Rosie and Jamal rolled from the ring, fleeing the fight. Meeting up with Bischoff on the ramp, they traded obscenities with Booker T and Goldust, who were leaning over the ropes daring the two men to return.

Jeff rushed to Lita's side, dropping beside her. She was out cold, but appeared to be breathing ok. "I'm so sorry, Li. I'm so sorry," he said softly to her over and over again. "Please wake up," he said as he softly patted her on the cheek.

"Hey, man, don't move her," Booker said, dropping down beside Jeff. "Her neck could be broke again."

"Here comes the medics," Goldust added, speaking to Jeff, who simply nodded.

The medics arrived, bringing with them a stretcher. They were definitely going to need that. Jeff stayed beside his friend, holding her hand as the medics looked her over. Soon, she began to come to, moaning softly and muttering.

"Jeff?" she said weakly, struggling to move her head.

"Ssh, Lita. I'm here. Don't move," he said, reaching out to stop her from moving her head. Quickly, the medic placed an immobilization unit around her neck.

"It hurts, Jeff. It hurts," she said softly.

"I know. I'm so sorry. I came as quickly as I could."

Lita tried to nod, but grimaced in pain instead. The pain was actually helping her come more to herself, as she awoke more from her unconscious state.

"Lita, I'm Tom and this is Virgil," the taller of the two medics said, bending over the prone redhead. "We're here to help you, but I need you to stay still and not move your head. We're going to help you onto this stretcher and take you to the hospital. Ok?"

"Ok," she said simply. She went to move her leg then, as if to help position herself to get on the stretcher.

"Jeff?" she said suddenly, panic in her voice.

"I'm here Lita. I didn't go anywhere."

"Jeff, please help me." She was panicking now.

"Lita," he said, rubbing her hand soothingly between his. "I'm right here. What is it?"

"Jeff," she said, tears springing into her eyes. "I can't move my legs."

Jeff felt his heart drop into his stomach. Her words hit him like a brick. He didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth to comfort her, but no words came out.

TBC...


	2. Chapter Two

Part Two

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Monroe, Louisiana

"HHHHaaarrrrddddddyyyyyy!"

"What?" screamed an annoyed Matt Hardy from the hotel room's kitchenette, where he was busy making popcorn. "I'm coming, man. Don't get your panties in a wad!"

"Matt, get your butt in here right NOW!" yelled his roommate for this road trip, Edge. He was standing in front of the TV watching Raw,which just came on. He yelled again to Matt without taking his eyes off the TV, "Matt! I'm serious, man. Get in here now!"

"Geez, man," said Matt Hardy, entering the room, a bowl of popcorn in his hand. "What is it?"

"It's who it is," Edge corrected, emphasizing the word who. "Look, man, Bischoff has called Lita down to the ring."

"What?" Matt questioned, setting the popcorn down on the end table and moving next to Edge in front of the TV. "What business does he have with her? She's only working Heat as a commentator while she's injured."

"I know. From what I've seen, being called out by that idiot is never a positive experience either."

Matt didn't answer him, as he was glued to the screen. He watched as Eric lashed out at Lita, ridiculing her earlier comments regarding which was the better show. Matt unconsciously gripped his fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white as he listened to him berate her, calling her a bitch. "C'mon, Lita," he said to her on the screen as if she could hear him, "get out of there." He wasn't surprised to hear Lita come back at her boss, telling him exactly why she thought he got no respect. Matt wanted to cheer her on for her courageousness, but was too worried about how the man was going to react. As if on cue, their worst fears came true, with the Island Boys, Rosie and Jamal, showing up in the ring with Lita and Bischoff.

Matt and Edge watched in horror as Lita was stalked around the ring, then man-handled by Bischoff's thugs. Edge watched on in disbelief, anger overtaking his senses. A stream of obscenities left his mouth as he watched his friend be injured by the two much larger men.

Matt watched intently as he saw the woman he use to be so close to thrown around the ring like a rag doll. "NO!" he screamed as Rosie made the final blow, leaping off the turnbuckle onto the fallen diva. "My God, no," he cried, sinking to the floor in front of the TV, his hands falling to his face.

"Thank God, Jeff's there now," Edge said, as he watched the purple-haired Hardy rush into the ring, attacking Rosie and Jamal. He felt a slight feeling of relief as Booker T and Goldust joined in, knowing Lita's torturing was over.

"She's not moving, Edge," Matt said softly, his eyes burning into the TV screen, as if to try and will her to wake up. "She's hurt. They've hurt her bad." He watched in a daze as his brother dropped to his knees beside the redhead, placing his hand on her and talking to her. As the medics rushed towards the ring, the camera switched back to the King and JR, solemn expressions on their faces. A second later, they went to a commercial break.

"C'mon, Edge. Get your shoes and your cell phone and let's go."

"Where we going?" asked Edge, already knowing the answer as he looked around the room for his shoes.

"Houston," Matt said simply. "And I suspect to a hospital."

TBC


	3. Chapter Three

Part Three

Jeff Hardy sat in the cold, plastic chair staring intently at the floor in front of him. His hands rested on his cheeks, holding his  
head up. It had been at least four hours since he had arrived at the hospital with Lita. Upon their arrival, they had whisked her into the emergency room, effectively shutting the swinging doors in his face. The administrative nurse at the information desk had directed Jeff to the waiting area, which is where he sat now, a cold cup of coffee his only companion.

Deep in thought, Jeff didn't hear the footsteps coming towards him. Lita's words rang in his ears, "Jeff, I can't feel my legs."

"Hey, man, how is she?"

Jeff snapped out of his haze then, raising his head to acknowledge the new presence in the waiting room. He looked directly into the concerned eyes of one very worried Chris Jericho.

"I don't know, Chris" they haven't come out to tell me anything yet. "She's real bad, though. I know that much."

"Maybe not, kiddo. Maybe she's just addled a little bit. She's a tough chick."

"I know she's tough. But, Chris, she…" Jeff turned his head away, not wanting his friend to see the tears that were on the brink of spilling over. "… she said she couldn't feel her legs."

"What?" Chris asked incredulously. Jeff had said that last part so softly, he couldn't have heard him right.

"I said she couldn't feel her legs," the younger Hardy said, getting a better hold on his emotions.

"No, no way, man. That can't be. That thug didn't even land on her legs. He dropped her on her back mostly. I saw it backstage on the monitor."

"I know. I know. I guess we have to wait for the doctors to come out and tell us what's going on. I just wish they'd hurry."

"Like I said," Chris said, putting his hand on Jeff's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "She's tough. She's going to be ok."

Just then, Jeff and Chris were both distracted by a loud commotion occurring over at the Information Desk. Two men rushed through the doors, both talking at the same time and looking quite disturbed. The poor nurse was trying to calm them down in order to see how she could help them.

Realization dawned on Jeff's face as he recognized who it was that was causing the ruckus. Standing at the front desk, looking distraught, was his brother Matt, along with Edge.

"Guys!" Jericho hollered over to them, getting Edge's attention. Matt was still talking to, or more or less at, the nurse oblivious to everything. Edge nodded at Chris, and grabbed Matt by the arm, pointing at the two wrestlers in the waiting area. They walked quickly over to Jeff and Chris, worry stretched across their features.

"How is she?" Matt asked, looking intently between his brother and the blonde Canadian.

"We don't know, Matt," Chris stated. "The doctors are still in looking at her."

"But it's been at least four hours since it happened," Edge stated matter of factly. "We drove like maniacs from Louisiana to get here. That car will never ride the same again."

"I know. We want to know something too. But I guess they're giving her a complete evaluation," Chris answered.

Jeff remained silent, not willing to look into his brother's eyes. He couldn't believe that after all that had happened again that he was standing here in front of them.

"Jeff," Matt said to his brother, "How are you doing? Are you ok?"

Jeff snapped his head sharply staring down the man that stood in front of him. "And just why would you care, Matt? You turned on usagain, you know. You didn't care about us then, so why do you care now?"

Matt dropped his head, not knowing what to say. The truth was that he had turned on his brother a few months back, taking him down in an IC title match. And then he jumped ship to Smackdown, without telling anyone of his plans. If only he could explain to his brother why he did what he did. He had talked with Edge about it in-depth over the last few weeks. Surprisingly, the tall Canadian had been a friendly ear, given that he had been treated much the same way by his own brother. Matt and Edge had traveled together ever since, becoming fairly good friends.

"Jeff, if you just let me explain," Matt began.

"Um, guys," Edge interrupted, sensing this conversation would not happen as smoothly as Matt would want it to, "why don't we just focus on Lita now. We can talk about this stuff later."

"Um, yeah, ok," Matt said. "But, Jeff, you need to know that I do care about you and Lita both very much. I have my reasons for why I behaved the way I did. I didn't mean to abandon you, and I never intended to hurt you."

"You have a funny way of showing it," Jeff replied tersely. "You know, this is sounding like a freakin' case of déjà vu. Let's just wait for the doctor." With that, Jeff walked back to the blue plastic chairs, leaving Matt standing with Jericho and Edge.

TBC


	4. Chapter Four

Part Four

A thick tension hung in the air as the four wrestlers waited for word about their fallen friend. Jeff and Matt wouldn't even look at each other, never mind speak again after the earlier terse exchange between the two. Edge currently stood over by the windows, watching aimlessly at the traffic on the street outside as the occasional ambulance would scream into the bay ahead of the other cars, rushing it's occupants inside and behind those swinging doors, the same doors where Lita currently was somewhere.

Chris Jericho had stretched out on three of the hard plastic chairs, turning them into a makeshift cot. Jeff looked up over the magazine he was pretending to read, and glanced over at his friend, wincing as he noted the position the blonde Canadian currently held. Matt simply sat in one of the chairs, staring blankly at his feet, his eyes never leaving the floor.

Just as Jeff was about to get up and go wake Jericho, intending on saving him from a major backache, the doctor came out the swinging doors and towards the men in the waiting area.

"Mr. Hardy?" he asked.

"Yes," came the answer in stereo, as both Jeff and Matt snapped their heads up and answered on instinct. Both men rose to their feet from opposite sides of the room, walking forward to meet the doctor. The doctor looked momentarily perplexed as to whom he should be addressing.

"Here, doc," said Jeff taking the lead. "Um, this is my brother, Matt."

The doctor nodded, then noticed he was going to be joined by two more of Lita's friends. Edge walked over towards the group, stopping to shake Jericho on the shoulder and wake him out of his fitful slumber. "C'mon, man get up," he said, then joined Matt and Jeff with the doctor.

"How is she?" asked Jeff.

"She's going to be ok, right?" Matt added.

"I'm Doctor Silas," the man introduced himself. "I've been one of the doctors working with your friend. She took quite a nasty fall earlier."

"She was attacked," Edge corrected.

"Right. That would explain a lot of the bruises," he continued.

"Bruises?" Matt asked. But Jeff cut him off.

"Doc, when it happened she told me she couldn't feel her legs. Is she going to be alright?" a worried Jeff inquired.

"Lita landed on her back, which is of course her spinal cord and vertebrae. When we took x-rays, we saw some pressure and swelling on her lower vertebrae, which is what caused her loss of feeling."

"So," Matt interrupted, "It's only temporary?"

"I can't say for sure yet," Doctor Silas continued, "but we've seen cases like hers before. As the swelling goes down on her back, the pressure should be relieved and she should gain the feeling in her legs again."

"Thank God," said Jericho, raking his hands over his red-rimmed eyes.

"Regardless, she isn't going to get better overnight. And she's going to have to go through some physical therapy, to help her get her strength back. Basically, she'll be learning how to walk again."

"What about her neck, Doctor?" Edge asked.

"We also x-rayed her neck, given her medical history and current rehabilitation program from her neck surgery. Your friend must have a guardian angel, because she seems to have escaped serious re-injury there. The metal plate appears to be fastened as it was originally and the bones appeared to be fusing normally."

"Thank God," Jericho said again.

"I bet she's going to be sore there anyway," Matt surmised. "That was still one hell of a rattle she took from Jamal and Rosie."

"Put it this way, Matt. Don't expect her to be very friendly to you for a while. She's not feeling real well."

"She's not very friendly with me now," Matt muttered, looking away.

"She has a few lacerations and quite a few bruises, and she has a sprained wrist. Her back though is her most serious injury. But she is awake and has been talking to us. We've moved her to a private room and given her a mild sedative to help her rest. In a little bit she'll be out for the night, so if you'd like, I can take you in to see her for just a minute. But just for a few minutes, and one at a time. She's had enough excitement for one night."

All four men fell into step then, following the doctor towards Lita's room. "You know, Lita had been asking for Rainbow. I wasn't sure who or what she was talking about. Now I think I do," Doctor Silas chuckled as Jeff smiled. His friend was going to be ok.

TBC


	5. Chapter Five

Part Five

The door creaked softly as it gave way, allowing entrance to Jeff as he peeked his head into the room. "Lita?" he asked softly.

"Jeff? Is that you?" came the weak response.

Jeff stepped more fully into the room, seeing his best friend lying in her hospital bed for the first time. She looked really, really … tired was the word he settled on.

"How you feeling, sweetie?"

"Like I got run over by two Mack trucks," she replied, a semi-smile coming to her lips. Jeff just looked more concerned at her comment, furrowing his brows deeper. "No, Jeff, seriously," she said, holding her arm out to her friend to come closer to her. "I'm alright, I promise. See?" she said.

Jeff walked over to Lita, taking her hand and sitting down beside her on the edge of her bedside. Looking closer at the hand he held, he noticed then the ugly purple bruise on her forearm. He saw what appeared to be a perfect imprint of a man's hand. A very large man's hands.

"They're gonna pay for this, you know," he said, softly rubbing her arm just above the bruise.

"I know. You guys always take care of me."

Jeff dropped his head. "Um, Lita," he started, "Look, I'm so sorry about that. I wasn't there for you…"

"Jeff.. stop."

"No, I mean, you were in a very dangerous situation, and I stood in the back like an idiot while you were ambushed."

"Jeff, I mean it. Stop. You were there for me. You rescued me from those bastards, along with Booker and Goldust. And for that, I am forever grateful."

Jeff looked up at his friend, his hand still clasped tightly with hers. He had the hint of tears in his eyes that he fought to hide  
from her. "Well, I promise to do a better job of it though. I will never leave you alone, ever again. I mean it. It's too dange…"

"Jeff," Lita interrupted him. "You know that's impossible. And I can usually handle myself, or did you forget? I was just outnumbered this time is all."

"But you're still recovering from your neck surgery. I swear to you, I will not let any man come within ten feet of you until you are completely healed."

"Gee, thanks little brother," Lita chuckled. "That will do wonders for my love life. Oh wait, I don't have one."

"Lita, um about that,"

"What?"

Jeff suddenly appeared very nervous. He decided against bringing up Matt's presence for the time being. "Um, nevermind." He suddenly changed the subject. "The doctor came out and talked to us. He told us you're going to gain the feeling back in your legs." Jeff tried to sound upbeat.

"He said I might gain the feeling in my legs again, Jeff. He talked to me too you know."

"You have to think positive, Lita. He said he's seen of lot cases like yours before, and most patients do gain their feeling and  
abilities. The swelling will start going down in your back and…"

"I really don't want to talk about this right now," Lita said, yawning big as the sedatives started to take effect. "It's just too  
much to think about right now, you know?"

Jeff smiled at his sleepy friend, reaching out to help her adjust her pillow to a more comfortable position. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. There will be plenty of time for that discussion later, when your head's a little more clear. I'm going to go now and let you rest. Oh, Edge and Chris are outside too. They're going to want to see you for a minute before you doze off." He rose from her bed and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you're ok. Don't know what I'd do without you around to bug me," he smiled.

"Jeff, thanks. Thanks for being there. And send those two big galoots in here before these drugs take me under. I want to see them and thank them for coming."

"Sure. But they're only staying for a minute, then you're drifting off."

"I may drift off while they're here," she chuckled.

"Um, Lita," Jeff started again, trying to figure out a way to tell her that Matt was also outside waiting. "Well, um, there's also…"

"What is it?" she said, yawning again.

"Uh, never mind. I'll tell you tomorrow," he decided. He figured Edge and Chris would be lucky to get five minutes with her before she was asleep, so there would be no way she'd be awake to face Matt, which was probably for the best in her current state. She could face that hurdle tomorrow.

"Good night, Rainbow."

"Good night, sweetie," Jeff said, and turned and walked out the door to get Edge and Chris. He also would have to break the news to Matt that he wouldn't be talking to her tonight. If his brother really cared about her like he said he did, he'd understand.

TBC


	6. Chapter Six

Part Six

Lita awoke to a gray blur, the sedatives she'd been given were wearing off and allowing her to join the waking world again.  
Gradually the murkiness in her mind cleared, and she realized that she was in a darkened hospital room and not in her own bed at home. As the fog in her mind cleared more, the horrible memories of last night came rushing back to her. Maybe, just maybe, she thought, I am still dreaming. But she quickly squashed that idea when her legs refused to follow her brain's command to move. The nightmare she had lived through last night had been real after all.

Sighing heavily, she turned her head towards the windows. It was early, how early she wasn't sure, but the pre-dawn dusky darkness had yet to give way to the sunrise. The room itself was bathed still in the fading moonlight's glow from the darkness outside. Her attention was averted when a subtle rumbling came from the corner of her room near the foot of her bed. Lita struggled to make out the figure that was obviously sleeping in a very uncomfortable position in her room with her. Lita stretched her sore neck, squinting into the darkness to see who it was with her. She relaxed as she was able to make out the figure's outline. It was unmistakable. That outline in the shadows was the outline of a Hardy. Lita smiled a little as  
she thought about Jeff coming back to stay with her so she wouldn't be alone. "Aw, Rainbow," she whispered. "You didn't have to stay with me."

The sleeping Hardy responded by turning over again, still asleep and still very uncomfortable. Lita couldn't let her friend stay in that position. He'd be in worse shape than her by the morning.

"Jeff," she said, raising her voice slightly above a whisper. "Jeff," she said again. "Wake up, sleepyhead. You're going to have a horrible backache."

"Hmm?" came a groggy response. His hand raised up to wipe at his eyes, dropping unceremoniously again at his side.

"C'mon, big guy." Lita said. "You can climb in this bed with me. I won't hurt you."

"What? Lita?" the figure in the chair fully woke now, temporarily forgetting he had been sleeping in two uncomfortable chairs. He rolled over, catching his feet in the chair spokes and fell with a loud thud to the cold tile floor. "Uuuggghh."

"Jeff, you ok?" Lita said, clasping a tired hand over her mouth. Even as wiped out as she felt, she couldn't help but stifle the  
giggle from the site she just witnessed in the corner.

"Um, yeah, fine. Lita, are you ok? Are you awake?" the figure picked himself up off the floor and quickly approached her bed. "I was so worried about you. Are you alright?"

Lita gasped as the figure came fully into her line of vision. "Matt? Oh my… what are you doing here?"

"Lita, you're awake," he seemed very happy to see her. "Oh, honey, I was so worried about you. I saw everything on the tv and rushed here as soon …"

"Stop it, Matt."

"What?"

"I said stop. I don't understand why you're here. I don't want you here."

"But,…"

"No. You don't get it. You can't just come rushing back here again and think everything is just going to be peachy keen."

"Lita, I know you're upset. I expect that. But, I've been trying to call you since the day I left for Smackdown. You wouldn't take my calls. I wrote you letters. Did you read them?"

Lita looked away, not able to look in his eyes. "No," she said softly. "Matt, I was very angry with you. Once again, you turned on your brother and left. And neither of us really understands why you did it. It hurt Matt. You hurt both your brother and me. I couldn't bear to talk to you about it. I couldn't stand to hear a string of excuses." Tears were beginning to well up in the redhead's eyes.

"Lita, I want to explain, I really do. Please don't cry. I have been trying to tell you why I had to act the way I did. I promise. But right now, I am much more worried about you. I don't matter. You do. I know what happened in the ring. I know about your… temporary paralysis."

"I don't want to talk about that, Matt. I can't handle this right now. I'm angry. Angry at those bastards for doing this to me, at Bischoff for being an ass, and at myself for not being able to fight back. I may never walk again because of them. You can't possibly know what I'm feeling."

"Lita,"

Lita's emotions were opening up now, and her feelings began to pour out unwillingly. "No. Just stop. I'm also angry at you for coming here and confusing things even more. I don't want your sympathy Matt. You should have just stayed away."

"Lita, I won't make you talk about anything you don't want to. I'd never hurt you, not intentionally anyway. If you're not ready to talk about your injury, or anything else for that matter, that's ok. I want you to know that I'm not abandoning you, I've never really abandoned you. And…" he broke off, not sure how to finish his impromptu speech. It was all pouring from his heart now as he continued, "if you'll let me, I'll be here for you during your recovery."

"Matt… I don't know. I'm so confused." Lita covered her eyes with her hands.

Matt reached out and tentatively removed her hands from her eyes, covering them with his. "Look, I know you have a lot to deal with right now. I'm making you upset and that's the one thing I never wanted to do. So, I'm going to go. I just had to see for myself that you were alright and to let you know I care. Ok?"

The tears were streaming down her face now. She took her hands back from his, wiping at her eyes with her sleeves. "Just go, Matt. Just leave please."

"Ok," he said rising up from the bed and turning towards the door. "Lita, you are the strongest person I've ever met. You have drive, tenacity and energy unlike anyone I've ever seen. You've overcome hurdles in your life before, and you will this too. No matter what happens between us, don't forget that. You will walk again." And with that, he picked up his jacket and left the room.

Lita just stared after him, watching as the door slowly returned to a shut position. Once she was safely alone again, the flood walls opened, and she sank back in her bed sobbing. She didn't know if she really had the energy to get through this.


	7. Chapter Seven

Part Seven

"Hey beautiful."

Lita looked up from the magazine she'd been reading at the huge bouquet of flowers in front of her that were now apparently addressing her.

"Hey, Rainbow! They're beautiful. Thank you," she said reaching forward and accepting the bouquet of wildflowers that Jeff had brought to her. She held them to her nose, taking in their fragrance.

"Wildflowers for a real wild flower," he said smiling. "How you feeling today?"

It had been three days since Lita had been attacked on Raw. The bruises that had marked her so angrily were starting to fade.

"Much better, except for this," she said, holding her wrist up to him. Part of her forearm up to her palm was in a cast thanks to a severe sprain. "The itching is driving me crazy. You got a saw handy?"

Jeff patted himself down, as if he was looking for the requested object. "Hmm, nope. Sorry, Red, I left it in my other pants."

He continued, "I just stopped by to tell you goodbye, sweetie. I have to leave out for Lexington this afternoon. That buttwipe Bischoff has demanded I be back on the roster and fight tonight."

"Hmmpf," she huffed. "I'm sure he does. Please be careful Jeff. I don't trust him. Not one tiny bit."

"Yeah. Don't worry though. Y2J is already back there. He's got my back, as does Shane. Speaking of the Hurrifreak, he been by here yet?"

"No, he hasn't. But he said he would change planes in Houston so he could come see me during a layover, which I think is very sweet. So stop calling him a Hurrifreak."

"I just call em like a see em," Jeff said smiling. The smile dropped from his face though as he changed the subject and got  
serious. "So, tell me, any feeling yet in your legs? You said you're feeling better."

Lita looked down momentarily. She hated talking about her paralysis because the whole situation frustrated her so badly. She looked back up into Jeff's eyes though and answered honestly. "Yes and no."

"What? Explain," Jeff said.

"Well, yes, I am feeling a lot better. My neck is a little less sore, and my back doesn't hurt as badly as it did. Could be the  
drugs though," she said, attempting to inject a little humor into this most serious subject. She continued on. "But no, I'm afraid I still don't have my feeling in my legs yet."

"Well," he said, picking up her hand and placing a soft kiss on the back of it. "You will, soon. And before you know it, you'll be helping me kick the Island Boys asses, along with that creepy GM of ours."

"Right now, I'd settle for just getting to go home to North Carolina. I like Texas, but it's not home. You know?"

"I know. What have they said?"

"If I start to get the feeling back soon, I can start physical therapy here and be transferred to a rehabilitation center back home to take physical therapy. It means getting to go home, as in to my house and everything." She seemed excited about the possibility.

"Cool. And what's the alternative."

A look of distain appeared on her face. "If I don't get the feeling back by next week, then they will transfer me to another hospital in North Carolina. Big whoop, you know?"

"Hey, that's better than a thousand miles away. It will be easier for me to check up on you."

"Yeah, but Jeff. There are more severe consequences. If I don't get the feeling back soon, no hospital in North Carolina is going to want me either. They're going to…" she dropped off as she struggled to keep control of her voice.

"They're going to what Lita?"

"They're going to just send me to a convalescence center. Jeff, there's no need to go to a hospital when they can't fix you. I'll be stuck in a home somewhere, staring at four white walls and eating moldy jello. It will be worse than a prison." It was obvious she had given this a lot of thought.

"Now, sweetie. You think too much. First of all, you're going to get the feeling back and start therapy. Secondly, you do not have to go to a home. You will come and live with me. Dad lives down the road and he'll help too."

"Jeff, you know that's not a possibility."

"Yes it is. I say so."

"Jeff, you are on the road 90 percentof the time. And I will not become a burden to your father, especially when I'm not even dating his son anymore."

"But you know Dad thinks of you like a daughter, regardless of your status with Matt."

"I know, but the answer to that is no', Jeff."

"What about your Mom?"

"She's still out of the country. She's not scheduled to come back until February."

"Ah, well, by then, you'll be all healed up. And listen, Red," Jeff said, getting in his friend's face. "I have the answer anyway. Here's the deal, and you can't argue the point. If, and I mean a very slight if, you don't get the feeling back right away, then you will come home to live with me. We will hire a part-time nurse to stay with you when I'm not there, to help you out and stuff."

"Jeff…"

"No, don't worry. We'll charge the nurse's salary to Bischoff."

"But, Jeff, you've got your own life too. You need time for your own social life."

"I will, Lita. I promise. And besides, I will make a great nurse."

Lita laughed then, reaching up and taking her friends face in betweenher hands. "Jeff?" she asked.

"What?" he answered through a squished face.

"You have made me an offer I can't refuse," she said, releasing his face and leaning back into her pillows.

"Alright!" he said, standing up and smoothing out his shirt. "Ok, I really gotta go now or I'll miss my flight to Kentucky. I'll call you later on, ok?"

"Ok."

"Oh, and Lita," he said, turning around at the edge of her door. "As your caregiver, it will be my responsibility to give you regular sponge baths." With that he ducked out the door, as the tv remote control came zinging at his head and clanged loudly to the floor. As Jeff left, he swore he heard his friend laughing. His mission for today was complete.

Out in the waiting room, Shane Helms sat in a large brown chair, silently debating if it's upholstery was from the 1960's or 1970's. It was so old and outdated he couldn't be sure. He had come to the hospital to visit Lita. However, he was currently watching his friend Matt pace nervously around the small waiting area. They were the only two occupants.

"C'mon, Matt. Let's just go see her already. I have a flight to catch in a few hours. I promised her I'd stop by."

"I know, I know," Matt said. "But, I'm just not sure if she'll see me again Shane. She made it pretty clear the other night that she didn't want me around."

"Matt, she had just been brutally attacked. I'm sure she wasn't thinking too clearly."

"I don't know. She's pretty hurt, both physically and emotionally."

"Well, what did you say to her the other morning?"

"I told her I didn't mean to hurt her. And I didn't. And I wanted her to know I care about her."

"That sounds like a pretty good start," Shane surmised.

"I really didn't mean to hurt her Shane. I'd never hurt her or Jeff. But I had to do what I did. You understand that, right?"

"Of course, I do. I'm in this thing too you know. But, Matt, didn't you tell her what you were getting into before you jumped Jeff?"

Matt looked away. "No…"

"What? Why not? My friend, you have a good heart, but you are really, really stupid sometimes. Did you even tell Jeff?"

"No again. Look, I didn't want to put either of them at risk. I needed them to believe that I was jumping."

"Well, that's certainly the way to do it. Geez, Matt. You really complicated things here."

"I know."

"Do you think Bischoff suspects something, Shane? Maybe he sent his goons after Lita to send us a message."

"Nah. I don't think so. I think he really was just looking for a cheap thrill and Lita's comments about Smackdown fit the bill." Shane then changed the subject. "Ok, look. I am the Hurri-master at repairing relationships. Although you are certainly pushing my superhero limits."

"Cut the superhero crap. What are you saying?"

"Let's just go see Lita. Let me talk to her and you just stand there looking incredibly sad and remorseful. Got it?"

"It's not an act. I am remorseful."

"Good, let's go."

Shane and Matt walked down the hall to Lita's room. They didn't see Jeff, who had turned down the opposite hallway. It was probably a good thing that Matt and Jeff didn't pass each other. They hadn't said too much to each other since the first night at the hospital.

Shane pushed the door open and entered the room, dragging Matt in behind him. "Lita! You're day just got brighter. I'm finally here!"

Lita looked up, a smile coming to her face. "Yea! Shane, you came!" Shane crossed the room to her bed and enveloped his friend in a big hug. Lita hugged him back enthusiastically, then leaned back into her pillows. When she saw who had come in with him she just shut her mouth, not sure what to say.

"Hi Lita."

"Matt."

"Um, look, it might be better if I wait outside while you two talk."

"No, no, no," Shane said. "Look, Lita. Matt here has been driving me crazy because he's so worried about you. It's ok if he stays, right?"

"Um, yeah. Stay Matt," Lita said. She figured since Shane was here the conversation would steer clear of their personal problems.

Matt just nodded.

"So, Red," Shane continued, "How you doing?"

"Well, I'll tell you the same thing I told Jeff. If I get the feeling back in my legs within the week, I get to start physical  
therapy and actually go home. If not, then they want to ship me to a "facility"," she said, making imaginary quote marks with her fingers at the word facility.

"Well, that's not going to happen," Shane said simply.

"Yeah, Shane, it is. It's what they said."

"No, it's not. It's not because you're going to get your abilities back and not need a "facility." He mimicked the quotation marks like she had made earlier.

"Yeah, you're right. Think positive and all." Just then Shane's cell phone began ringing. He opened the display and saw Jeff's name on the monitor. "Hmm, I wonder what he wants. I better take this, Lita. I'll be right back." With that, Shane stepped out of the room, answering his phone. "What do you want Hardy…" The rest of the conversation was drowned out as the door closed.

Matt turned around and awkwardly faced his ex-girlfriend, not sure what to say. "Um, you look like you're feeling a little better."

"I do, actually."

"Do you need anything?"

"Yeah. I need to get my feeling in my legs back so I can get my life back."

"Remember what I said the other morning, Lita. You'll make it, I know you will."

"It's so simple to you, isn't it Matt? You have all the answers. Just come waltzing in here and tell me to "buck up little trooper". Life will be just peachy. I can't just smooth over things like you do, Matt."

"Lita, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I did leave you and Jeff, but there is a very good reason for it. I tried to tell you, but you  
wouldn't talk to me."

"Oh, there's always a reason, isn't there Matt? Just save it. I don't need any excuses."

"No, please listen to me," he said reaching out and placing his hands on her still legs. "There is so much more to the story. There are things going on in the WWE that you're not aware of. Me, and Edge and Shane are all…"

"Oh my God, Matt,"

"No, I'm serious Lita. Please hear me out."

"No," Lita said, reaching out and placing her hands on top of Matt's. She had an incredulous look on her face. "No, Matt. I mean," she stopped and broke out in laughter. "Matt, you just placed your hands on my legs."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"No," she said, glee entering her voice. "No, it's ok. I felt your hands on my legs! I felt it Matt!" She laughed again out loud.

"Oh my God," he said. Instantly, he reached down and enveloped her in a hug, embracing her in happiness. Lita hugged him back, ecstatic with this new development.

At that moment Shane re-entered the room. "Well," he said with a smirk. "I guess you didn't need my assistance at all, did you Matt?"

TBC


	8. Chapter Eight

Part Eight

North Carolina

"Ok, girl. It's time to take the first step. You ready?" Jeff Hardy was standing next to a set of parallel bars in the physical  
therapy room at the rehabilitation center. It had been a week and a half since Lita had first felt feeling in her legs again. She had been released from the hospital and had flown home, making her extremely happy. She had taken Jeff up on his offer and had moved in with him temporarily. While he'd been on the road, he had hired a nurse to stay with her. However, today was his day off, and it coincided with what was to be the most important day in her recovery efforts yet. Today was the day she was supposed to take her first steps.

"Can't we just do more of those strengthening exercises on the machines?"

"We could. But Joey here tells me you're ready for bigger and better things, right Joey?" Jeff nodded towards Lita's physical therapist.

"He's right Lita. You're ready. Let's give it a shot."

"I'm not so sure I'm ready for this yet," she said, hesitation in her voice.

"Why, Lita?" he asked. "Don't you want to get rid of that wheelchair?"

Lita looked up to face her friend. "More than anything," she said sincerely. "But, what if I'm not able to do this? What if I fail?"

"Lita," Jeff said, getting down on his knees in front of her so that they were at the same height. "I am going to be right there beside you with each step. And at the end of that bar I'm going to envelop you in the biggest hug you've ever had. And Joey is going to be right on your other side. If you're really worried about falling, don't, because we will catch you."

"You promise?"

"I promise. Pinky swear," he said, holding out his pinky finger for her to grab onto.

Lita looked at him dubiously for a moment, then broke into a smile as she reached out and wrapped her own pinky finger with his. Using the strength in her pinky finger, she suddenly pulled him forward, almost tumbling him into her lap.

"Drop me and you're a dead man, Hardy," she said with a wicked smile.

"Got it," he said, leaning back, using his weight to lift her up and out of the chair. Joey came over on her other side and they half-carried, half-walked her over to the set of parallel bars. Jeff took his place on her left side, while Joey stood on her right. Lita used the bars as leverage to keep herself standing.

"So far so good," she said, happy that she at least was able to remain standing.

"Ok, Lita. I want you to very carefully put your right foot forward, until you're steady, then your left. Use the bars to balance your weight," Joey instructed.

"What about this?" Lita questioned, holding up her wrist, still in it's cast. "It hurts to put pressure on it."

"Use your forearms to hold your weight. Don't bend your wrists. Keep your forearms and wrists on the bars horizontally." He showed her how to do it.

"Ok. Here goes." Lita gingerly placed her arms on the bars, then looked over at Jeff for encouragement. He nodded to her. "Go when you're ready, sweetie."

Lita took that first step slowly, carefully lifting her right leg and placing it ever so gently ahead of her. She kept her balance using the bars, keeping focused on her feet and the task of making them carry her forward. With much grit and determination, she managed to make the entire walk to the end of the bars without interference from Jeff or Joey. It seemed like it took forever to reach the end, but when she did, her face lit up like a kid at Christmas.

"I did it!" she cried jubilantly.

"Woo Hoo!" Jeff said, sweeping her into a hug. "I knew you could do it."

"Oh, Jeff. Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you here," she said.

"Hey, it's all you, girl. I didn't do a thing."

"You know what I mean. You're moral support, silly."

Well," he said, still holding her upright on her unsteady feet. "I never did get to give you that sponge bath. Maybe when we get home…" he stopped, breaking into a laugh and looking in her eyes expectantly.

"In your dreams, Rainbow," she said, laughing along with him. "Nice try though." She reached up and embraced him in another big hug.

Joey interrupted their little celebration then. "Great job, Lita. You ready to do it again?"

Boston, Massachusetts

Matt and Edge were together in Matt's hotel room, waiting for Shane Helms to call. Matt fidgeted restlessly with the remote control, flipping blindly through the channels on the TV.

"So," Edge said, "How's Lita doing?"

"Better," Matt said, switching his focus to his friend. "As I told you she went home last week, after she started getting the feeling back in her legs again. She's started doing physical therapy to strengthen her legs and start walking again."

"Is she staying at Jeff's?"

"Yeah. It's hard though cause he's on the road like us. I wish she'd let me take some time off and help her. Jeff has a nurse  
staying with them."

"She'll come around. You're talking again, right?"

"Kind of. It's real… " Matt searched for the right word, "strained, but at least they speak to me now. We avoid any type of conversation other than how Lita is doing or what the weather's supposed to be though." He continued on, "I haven't told them what's going on yet. But Shane talked to Jeff some, told him a little about what's going on. I need to talk to him one on one, though. You know, to set things right."

"You will. When do you see him again?"

"As soon as we end this road trip. I'm going to tell them both everything."

"Smartest thing I've ever heard you say, Hardy." Just then, the phone rang. Edge reached over and picked it up. "Shane. 'Bout time, man. We've been waiting on you. You know anything new?"

"Yep. Our suspicions are confirmed, man. He's planning on making his move at the next pay per view," Shane said on the other end of the line.

"Damn," Edge said. "We've got to stop him." He looked over at Matt. Matt stood by the window, looking at Edge and trying to figure out what Shane was saying. From his cursing, it didn't sound good.

"Oh, we will. We will. But we've got to get together and work out the details. Can you come home this trip with Matt so we're all in North Carolina?"

"Not a problem. That bastard's going down for what he's doing. And also for what he did to Lita. We leave here in the morning. We'll meet you at your place and figure out our plan then." Edge said. He said his goodbyes to Shane and turned to Matt, who stood there with his hands on his hips. "What?" Matt asked.

"Man, we've got to figure out our next move fast. This is all breaking loose at the next pay per view."

TBC


	9. Chapter Nine

Part Nine

"Ding dong"

"Coming!" came the muffled sound from inside the house. Edge and Matt stood outside on Jeff's step, having arrived in North Carolina after spending the remainder of the week in too many other cities to remember where they had even been. Both were tired, but a more pressing issue was at hand. They wanted to talk with Shane about their plan. For Matt, it also meant getting the chance to talk with Jeff and Lita too. Hopefully, to make things right with them again.

"Hurry, man" Edge called back. "It's freezing out here."

"Edge, it's 75 degrees here," Matt looked at his friend dumbfounded.

"I know," Edge said, turning to face Matt. "But this is Jeff we're talking about. You know how slow he is. We'll be out here all evening. Don't you have a key anyway?"

"Yeah, but given the current circumstances, I don't think that's such a good idea."

Just then the door swung open to reveal Jeff Hardy, standing there with an apron around his waist and dabs of flour on his face, arms, chest, and well, everywhere.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Edge, not missing a beat, "I thought this was Jeff Hardy's house. I'm sorry Mr. Doughboy, we'll just be on our way."

"Ha, ha, ha" said Jeff, wiping his hands on his apron. "I'm making cookies," he explained.

"What happened? Betty Crocker throw up on you?" Edge continued, smiling broadly.

"They're for Lita you moron," Jeff said. "Get in here. Shane's already here." He stepped aside, allowing entrance to the two men. Matt stopped beside his brother before stepping into the entryway. "Good to see you bro. I mean it."

"You too, Matt." Jeff answered, meeting his brother's eyes. "Come on in."

Matt stepped inside, hesitating slightly in the foyer. He turned back to speak to Jeff, but the flour covered younger Hardy already knew what he was going to ask. "She's here, man," he said. "She's in the living room with Shane."

"Do you think she'll actually want to talk with me?"

"Well, I think she might," Jeff said thoughtfully. "Some time has passed and she is doing great with her therapy. But tread lightly, Matt."

"Has Shane told her anything that's going on?"

"Shane explained to me everything you three lamebrains are doing. But he's only told Lita that there's some crap about to hit the fan with Bischoff and we intend to throw it. He and I talked about it and with her trying to recover, we don't want her worrying about us, the future of the WWE or her job. She doesn't need that right now."

"She has to know what's going on though Jeff."

"And I figured you're just the man to tell her, Matt. I understand you have some other things to say to her anyway, right?"

"Yeah. God, I've missed her. It's killed me that she won't talk to me. And, Jeff, I want to talk to you too. You know, about all this."

"In the kitchen," Jeff said, nodding his head toward the disaster area where he had been baking cookies. Matt nodded and followed his brother into the room.

"Soda?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah. I'll get it though."

Jeff went to the sink to wash his hands and face while Matt went to the fridge and pulled out a drink for each of them. Cracking the top open, he sat down at the table where Jeff soon joined him.

"Jeff, look. I know you now know what's going on. Bischoff is a giant ass, and Edge and Shane are very close to having the proof we need to bust him. We just need to coerce him into admitting on tape that he's sabotaging the company while he's been plotting to take it over. My part in this was to find out if Heyman and Lesnar are in on it to dupe Stephanie on the Smackdown side. They definitely are. I've found that much out."

"So, you turned on me, and in essence, Lita, to jump to Smackdown to spy on Heyman?"

"Yeah. It all happened so fast. Shane called one night and told me what he and Edge had stumbled onto. They weren't sure who all was involved. They needed someone to go in there and get close to Heyman and Lesnar, and neither one of them were in a position to do it. They were afraid Heyman was about to make a move to cheat Steph out of the General Manager position and take it himself. I was able to stop that by getting the Undertaker to beat the snot out of Lesnar. It didn't give Heyman the chance he needed to fake out Steph."

"But, Matt. Why didn't you tell me? You know I'd want to help. Geez, I'd have been the first one to suggest you faking a turn on me to set you up as a heel on Smackdown. You know that."

"Exactly. I know you, Jeff. I know that you'd not only done that, but you'd be right in there taking crazy chances with Lesnar, Bischoff, or any of his goons. I just wanted to protect you from getting hurt. Even if it meant, for a short while, that you thought I turned on you."

"Thinking you turned on me hurt far worse than anything Bischoff could ever do."

Matt dropped his head. "I know. It's just…" He struggled to find the words.

Jeff found his words for him. "It's just that for almost my entire life, you have been my protector. You've been there for me when I'd get picked on in school all the way to the feuds we've been in with guys in the WWE. You have a fierce protective instinct sometimes, Matt, as if I were your child."

"Well, yeah. That's exactly it. I can't help it. Except for Dad, it's always been just us. You know? I'd kick the snot out of  
anyone I thought was trying to hurt you."

"But I'm not a child anymore, Matt. I'm not the little kid on the baseball field trying to play with the older boys. I'm a grown man who can take care of himself. And I'm doing that Matt, thanks in part to you. I would have liked the opportunity to watch your back in this thing."

"I'm sorry," Matt said simply. "I know now that I made the wrong decision. It's just so hard to allow you, or Lita for that matter, to go into situations where I think someone might try to hurt you."

"We're wrestlers for goodness sake. We go into situations like this every night."

"I mean," he continued, "this is different. If Bischoff figures out we're about to expose him, he'll aim to end your career" he  
said. "Or worse."

"Like he tried to do to Lita," Jeff stated.

"Yeah," Matt sighed.

"Matt, do you think he had Lita attacked because he thinks you know something?" Jeff became extremely concerned.

"No, I don't think so. He would have sent a message to one of us, you know, to gloat about it."

Jeff studied what his brother said for a moment. "You're probably right." He stood up, taking their cans to the sink and emptying them, then tossing them in the trash.

"Look Matt. You are my only brother. And I love you, even though you are a bonehead at times. But you're a good-hearted bonehead. You do the things you do out of a misguided sense of love and protection. I forgive you for not telling me what's going on. But from this day forward, you have got to swear you'll tell me when stuff like this happens. Let me be a part and contribute to the effort. I need you to trust that I am my own man and that I can carry my weight. Most of all, you've got to allow me to protect you sometimes. Can you do that?"

Matt looked up at his brother, who suddenly looked very wise for his 25 years. He stood up and stood man to man with him and answered, "Yeah. I think I can. Thanks, bro."

Jeff reached out and embraced his brother. "Cool. Now, go see Lita, because we have some team planning to do in a little bit."

"Yeah," Matt said, heading towards the door. He felt like a huge burden had been lifted from his chest. He stopped and turned around before leaving. "Jeff?"

"Yeah?"

"Your cookies are burning." Matt turned around and left, headed down the hall towards the living room.

"Aw, MAN!" Jeff shouted, leaping towards the oven to rescue his forgotten snacks.

TBC


	10. Chapter Ten

Part Ten

He approached the living room carefully, almost apprehensive to enter. He could hear the laughing coming from the room, knowing  
that his friends were in there, waiting on him actually. What made him nervous was that one of the laughing voices was female - Lita's  
to be exact. He wasn't sure how she was going to feel about him being there, regardless of what Jeff had said earlier.

He squared his shoulders and took a deep breath, forcing what he hoped was a realistic looking smile on his face before turning the  
corner and walking into the room. Quickly, the smile became a real one when he saw his friends gathered there. Edge and Shane were  
sitting in the floor in front of the TV, engaged in a wrestling video game, their own characters attempting to beat each other up.  
Shane appeared to have the upper hand at the moment. Lita sat in the recliner, her cane leaning against the wall next to her. She  
was laughing as she watched the two men playing. She looked good; beautiful in fact. Matt walked farther into the room, making his  
presence known.

"Give it up Edge," he said. "Hurridork has you cornered."

"Hey!" cried Shane. "Never underestimate the powers of a superhero. It's Hurricane," he said, emphasizing his name.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," said Edge, setting his controller down. "I don't think I can beat a computer enhanced version of  
him. The real thing though is not even a challenge."

Shane turned towards Edge at his comment, taking his eye off the game to return a comment. Instantly, Edge took advantage of the  
distraction, picking up the controller again and attacking his character. It was too late for "Hurricane" as "Edge" speared him  
flat on the virtual mat.

Matt chuckled, then turned his attention back towards the redhead sitting in the corner. He walked over and sat down next to her on  
the edge of Jeff's couch.

"How you doing?" he asked.

"Good," she answered, looking at Matt. "Great actually. My therapy has been going really well and I am strong enough now to be out of  
the wheelchair. All I need now is that stupid thing," she said, nodding towards the cane in the corner.

"That's great, Lita. See, I knew you could do it. I'm so thankful you're going to be ok."

"Yeah. I'm getting more strength back every day. I bobble a little, but overall, it's ok. Slow, but ok."

"Well, why don't you show me how well you're doing. Will you take a walk outside with me?"

Lita looked at Matt momentarily, knowing he was really asking if they could talk in private. She knew it was important that they  
talk about everything that had happened. She had dodged him long enough.

"Yeah, let's go."

Matt reached his hand out to help her to her feet, but she waved him off, opting to do things for herself. She reached around and picked  
up her cane and lifted herself out of the chair. Gingerly, she took a few steps, stopping to speak to Edge and Shane, who were still  
embattled with their on-screen personas.

"We'll be back, boys. Just gonna take a short walk while it's still nice out," she said.

"Ok," Edge said, not looking up.

Matt and Lita walked slowly down the hall and out the back door into the sunlight. For November, it was a beautiful day. Matt was  
surprised when Lita reached out and placed her hand on his arm as they headed towards the swing under the giant Oak tree. He wasn't  
sure if she did it for balance or for comfort, but it made him feel better.

Back in the house, Edge pressed the "freeze" button on the controller, halting their fight momentarily. "You think they'll work everything out?"

"Maybe," Shane said thoughtfully. "They have to start somewhere. At least they're talking again. I was afraid they wouldn't even get  
to that point. You know how stubborn they can both be."

Just then Jeff entered the room, clean once again. He held a plate of sliced fruits in his hands. "Uh, guys, I just tossed my cookies," he said, setting the plate down on the coffee table.

"Ugh, Jeff, I do not need to picture that image," Edge said, looking up at the younger Hardy. "Your inability to keep food down isn't  
exactly appealing to others," he said.

"Ewww, flashbacks," Shane added. "I've actually seen Jeff toss his cookies after a few particularly raucous nights in our past. It's  
not pretty."

"Shut up, you morons. I meant that the cookies I was baking for Lita burned. I had to throw them out. Where'd she go?"

"Out," answered Edge. "With your brother."

"Good," Jeff said. "I'm glad to see he didn't chicken out. I told him to go talk to her."

Outside

Matt held Lita's arm for balance as she sat herself down on the swing, then he joined her, releasing her arm.

"I see you got your hard cast off," he said, pointing to her wrist.

"Yeah," she said looking down at her wrist which had an elastic wrist band around it. "It's a little sore, but I'll be fine. It was all I could do to keep Jeff from decorating it though. He begged me to let him paint the cast. "She looked up and smiled a little at the thought.

"Aw, I don't know," Matt said. "He is a talented artist. He would have made it colorful."

"Well, I'm just glad to have it gone. It itched me to death." She looked away, staring out at the setting sun. Both were quiet for a  
few minutes. Finally, Matt spoke.

"Lita, look. I really wanted to talk to you about everything that's happened. I know Shane and Jeff haven't told you everything. It's  
time you know what's going on, and why I've behaved the way I have."

"Yes, Matt, I think it is time. Why are our lives so screwed up now?"

"Well, it's like this. Edge and Shane overheard Heyman talking to Bischoff one night at a show. They were alluding to a "master" plan  
they were hatching. They didn't think much of it at first, but you know, curiosity kills the cat, so they hung around and eavesdropped  
long enough to find out that Bischoff is plotting to take over the WWE."

"Really? I don't believe it."

"Really. Worse, Heyman and Lesnar are in on it. Bischoff's planning to announce his takeover at the PPV. They've been playing  
all these little games, gaining power, building their little empire."

"How do Shane and Edge know this? I mean, I love them both, but they're not exactly Dick Tracy's."

"Actually, you'd be surprised. Once they caught wind of what's going on, they've been all over it. Shane actually got help hacking  
into Bischoff's investment accounts. He's been buying stock, Lita. Lots of it. He gets enough ownership and he gets a majority seat on  
the board. It's all downhill from there."

"Wow. Why didn't they just go to the McMahons? I mean, Vince has tons of money and power. He could stop this."

"That's just it. They did go to Vince. He brushed them off, right before he and Linda left the country. Said Stephanie would deal  
with it. He doesn't think they're serious, and it's just one of Hurricane's misguided fantasy superhero stories. Stephanie of  
course, is very interested. She's behind us, and is giving us the opportunities we need to keep digging. She figured it would be  
easier to have us nosing around then all of a sudden have strangers show up and start nosing. She's going to help make sure Bischoff  
doesn't succeed."

"Yeah…." Lita said, trying to take everything in. "So, I take it those two pulled you into this when you turned on Jeff?"

"I never really turned on Jeff, Lita. But,yeah. They explained that they needed someone to get in there and get close to Heyman and  
Lesnar. To get into situations to keep tabs on them. I was able to do that. "

"Thank God. I couldn't believe that after everything that prick Heyman did to me last April, you would actually befriend them. That  
hurt me, Matt, deeply. Heyman is a prick, and the comments he made to me made me sick. I couldn't believe you all of sudden were  
buddies with him."

"I hate Heyman, Lita. I still plan to pummel him for what he did. Trust me, I have not forgotten that. I hate him for what he did  
to you and how he made you feel. I was going to explain it to you."

"Don't forget how he sicked Brock on you, Matt."

"Oh, I haven't. But we've had to be smart about it. I have to be patient or I'll blow it. It kills me to see you hurt, Lita. You've  
got to believe me. I'd never hurt you, or Jeff for that matter. I've been so worried about your welfare in all this. Afraid that  
Bischoff would find out we're on to him and come after you or Jeff. He torments you enough as it is."

Lita had been looking down at her hands, intently focused on her fingernail polish. She looked up at Matt knowing what he was going  
to say next. She knew him so well.

"So, you had Shane jump to Raw to look out for Jeff and me, didn't you?"

Matt smiled sheepishly. "Among other reasons. We needed someone inside Raw, and it did give him the opportunity to keep an eye on  
you. It helped me sleep a little better at night."

"Matt, why didn't you just tell us what was going on? I'm a big girl, I can handle it."

"I did try to tell you Lita. You wouldn't take my calls, remember?"

"I mean before you did this, not after. You should have trusted me enough to tell me. And Jeff for that matter. We would have wanted  
to help."

"Which… is why I didn't tell you. I know now, it was a really stupid move. It cost me some friends, my brother, and…" he broke  
off, not sure if he could finish. "And you, Lita. I lost you because of my stupidity."

"Matt…"

"No. Let me finish. It seems I never learn, do I? I care about you so much. I have this overwhelming desire to protect the people  
I love. You and Jeff are those people. I get focused on it, and don't always use good judgment. You are very capable Lita. I  
should have told you and Jeff what was happening and asked for your help. I just don't know what I'd do if something happened to either  
of you."

"Ironic isn't it that I got jumped anyway," Lita said wistfully.

"And I wasn't there for you."

"You were Matt. I know that you rushed to the hospital that night." She reached out and took his hand. They were quiet again  
for a moment.

"So, where does this leave us?" he finally asked.

"Matt, I would be lying if I said I wasn't horribly hurt. Trust isn't something that has come easily to me. You know my background,  
my history. I can't get over it that easily or quickly. But, I also understand that you acted out of a sense of love. I know that  
Matt."

"But I still screwed up."

Lita didn't answer him, just smiled sadly. Looking closer, Matt noticed she had teared up, despite her attempts not to. "Let's just  
take one day at a time, ok?" She wiped futilely at the tears running unchecked down her face.

"I would love that chance, Lita." Matt reached up and wiped at her tears softly with his thumbs.

"No more keeping secrets, Matt. No matter how dangerous you think it is, or how badly you want to protect me. It's the only way to  
earn my trust again. And for my part, I wasn't exactly kind to you after you jumped. I should have at least took your calls or read  
your letters. I was just so angry and hurt. I wasn't willing to try to understand. I promise to listen when you want to talk to me,  
no matter how angry. Ok?"

He started to say more, but Jeff chose then to appear at the top of the stairs on the deck. He called down to the two to come inside.  
Looking around themselves, Matt noticed that it had grown almost completely dark now. They'd been outside for quite a while.

"C'mon. Let's go inside. We need to talk about what our little team is going to do next."

"Ok," she said. Lita then held her hand out to him, and he pulled her up out of the seat. Keeping a hold of her hand, they began the  
slow walk back up to the house.

TBC


	11. Chapter Eleven

Part Eleven

Matt and Lita returned from their talk outside and rejoined their friends in the living room. As they walked into the room, Matt  
watched carefully as Lita headed towards the rocking chair, then headed for the couch, stopping to pick through the fruit left on the  
tray. With his brother's back momentarily turned, Jeff looked up from the video game Edge and Shane were playing to check on his  
friend.

"You OK?" he mouthed. Lita nodded, settling herself in the chair. The walk up the hill had been a bit tiring, but she'd never let the  
boys know that or they'd baby her all night. She directed her attention to Shane, who had turned off the video game and along with  
Edge, moved over to sit in front of the coffee table.

"Ok, now that we're all here. We have some serious planning to do. Everyone is aware of what Bischoff is trying to do, right?" he  
asked. He was fairly certain that Matt had brought Lita and Jeff up to speed, but he asked to be sure.

"Yes," said Jeff while Lita nodded.

"Well, I think I have just what we need to bring him down." Shane reached beside him into his duffel bag, removing a manila folder.  
He took out the papers that were contained within it.

"What's that?" asked Matt. He peered closer, attempting to get a better look at the papers. They appeared to be copies made from a  
book of some sort. Whoever copied them must have been in a hurry, given that they weren't at all centered and some of the pages were  
very dark.

"Just a few pages from the personal diary of one Eric Bischoff."

"What!" Edge rose from his seat, reaching out and taking the pages from Shane's hands to look at them closer.

"How did you get your hands on these?" Jeff asked incredulously.

"Let's just say I have a gift," Shane said smiling broadly.

"Man, we know you're into this spy stuff. But, I'm also beginning to think you're a real fruitcake." Matt said. "If Bischoff knew you  
had these, he'd have you tarred and feathered."

"Yeah, and then he'd feed you to the lions for lunch," Jeff added.

Edge looked up at Shane once again. "Just how did you get these again?" he asked, holding up the evidence in his hand.

"Well, I had been watching him closely, as you know. Every once in a while, I noticed he had a little black book with him that he  
carried around."

"You figured he was too much of a dork for that book to be filled with women's names…" Edge filled in.

"Exactly," Shane continued. "So I figured it must have something to do with his plan to take down the company. "So, one day while I  
knew he was at the arena with his new "Chief" Morley, I posed as a maintenance worker and got into his hotel room.

"Man, I don't even want to know how you did that," Matt commented. "Only you… or Jeff … could get away with that."

Jeff looked at his brother and pretended to be offended. "I happen to think it's brilliant. I'm sure some pretty senorita helped our  
boy out."

"My lips are sealed," smiled Shane, blushing slightly.

"Anyway, the information there is somewhat incriminating. But it's too cryptic still. It's not obvious enough to stand on it's own,"  
Shane said, scratching his head. He continued.

"These look like phone numbers," he said pointing to one of the pages, "and this is what appears to be financial transactions and  
account numbers. It's all that's there. But I know it has to figure in with all this. We've got to get Bischoff to confess.  
This is our ticket to do that."

"So, what's the next step?" Edge asked.

"Well," said Shane. "I figured we could track down those phone numbers to see who they belong to. Although I'm betting they belong  
to Heyman, Lesnar, and the boys of Three Minute Warning."

"Look at this area code. It's North Carolina," said Matt.

"Which means that one more than likely belongs to Flair," said Jeff.

"And if Flair is involved, you can bet your bottom dollar that HHH is too." The boys jumped at the soft voice coming suddenly from  
beside them. Lita had been quiet until then, but had risen and joined them across the room without them even noticing it. She now  
stood between Jeff and Shane, trying to get a better look at the papers.

"She's right," Shane said. "I've had a gut feeling HHH is in on it too. It'd be the perfect revenge on his ex-wife."

Matt nodded. "That also just took the danger factor of this little game to a whole new level."

"I'll work on confirming these numbers," Edge said, bringing the conversation back to the pages in front of them.

"Ok. What we really need to do though, is to get Bischoff to confess on tape to what he's planning. We've got the evidence, but  
we need him to confirm it. That's where I'm perplexed. How do we get him to confess?"

"One of us has to go in there and either confront him with this, or otherwise get him to admit what he's doing." Edge said.

"Well, unfortunately, it can't be me," Jeff said matter-of-factly. When he saw their confused looks, he clarified for them. "He hates  
my guts."

"True," said Shane. "I don't think I can either, though. He thinks I'm a big goof who lives in comic book land. I have no real  
credibility with him. He'd laugh at me then have me beat up."

"You do live in a fantasy world half the time, Shane," Jeff chided.

"Ha, ha. Very funny."

"Well, Edge could do it. We just need a reason."

"I'll do it," Matt said. "I have a good cover. I've been cozying up to Brock and Heyman for a while now. I can tell him they let me  
in on it, and for a cut, I'll do his bidding along with them."

"Um, Matt," Jeff looked directly at his brother. "Did you forget that Brock threw you through a wall last week? I don't think he'd  
believe that."

"Yeah, whatever," Matt muttered, raking his hands through his curly black hair.

"Guys," Lita began, but she was cut off by Shane.

"… So, back to Edge. What kind of reason could he possibly have …"

"Guys," she said again and was once more ignored.

"Well, maybe he could tell Bischoff that Steph sent him to spy, and for a cut he'll be a double agent…"

"Guys!" Lita yelled, finally getting their attention.

"What? Sorry, Lita," Shane said. "What is it?"

"I know the perfect person to coerce a confession out of Bischoff," she stated looking them each in the eyes.

"Who?" Edge asked.

Lita crossed her arms squarely across her chest and answered them.

"Me."

TBC


	12. Chapter Twelve

A/N: If you're still reading, thanks! Remember, this is an old fic I wrote a few years back. Hope you like it.

Part Twelve

"No."

"Absolutely not."

"Not in this lifetime, sweetie."

Lita swung around towards Matt, to see if his reaction would make it unanimous. "Well?"

Matt looked at her, then looked at the other three men in the room. "I'm sorry, Lita. I'm with them. It's way too dangerous to  
send you in there."

"But," she began.

"No buts," Jeff said. "We can't allow you to do that."

Lita immediately flinched at his words. "You can't allow me to do it? I have news for you, Jeff Hardy, you are not my keeper. You  
don't allow me to do anything." Lita felt her face begin to flush with anger.

"Lita, he didn't mean it like that," Edge intervened, trying to head off an argument.

"Li, he's right. That didn't come out right. I just meant that we don't think it's a good idea for you to go into a situation like  
this."

"Why not? Do you think I'm not capable?"

"Lita," Shane said, "Of course we think you're capable mentally. You are very intelligent. It's just that, well, physically you're  
still recovering."

"Lita, what if Eric attacked you? Or had one of his thugs attack you?" asked Matt.

"I have been getting stronger every day. I can walk fine. If that jerk were to try something, I could fight him off. And you guys  
wouldn't be too far away. I'd be fine."

"Lita, I don't agree. Just a few weeks ago he had you hurt. It happened so fast I couldn't even get to the ring in time to save  
you." Jeff stated.

"That was a fluke, Jeff. I was set up and you know it."

"That's kind of my point," Jeff said, placing his hands on his hips. "We're setting him up this time, and he already ordered you  
hurt once. I don't want it to happen again."

"In case you haven't noticed, Lita, you are much smaller than the goons he keeps company with. You'd be at a serious physical  
disadvantage," Edge added, trying to help Jeff's case.

"So, because poor little Lita' has been hurt in the past, she surely couldn't complete this task," Lita said, mocking herself. "Our little girl is too fragile to really be any help. What if she broke a nail or something?' Nice to know what you guys really think about me. Here I thought I was a part of the team'." Unable to stand it anymore, she swirled around and stalked out of the room as fast as her legs would allow her to go.

The four men left standing in the room all flinched as they heard the front door slam shut, telling them she had left the house.

"Well, I feel like a real winner. How about you?" Shane said.

"Were we wrong?" Edge asked.

"No, we weren't," Matt answered. "We all care about her. We're just not very gifted when it comes to explaining why we feel that  
way."

"We suck, actually," Jeff said. "And I suck the worst. So, I'm going to go talk to her." The others nodded and parted, allowing  
Jeff to exit the living room and head towards the front door.

"I hope she doesn't kill him," Shane said, trying to lighten the mood.

Out on the front porch, Lita sat in the swing, appearing to stare intently at the giant volcanoes on Jeff's land. The house itself  
had a quaint southern charm to it; lots of trees, a wrap-around porch, and even an old water well in the side yard. The giant  
mounds of dirt Jeff had built up off from the side definitely added his offbeat personality to the place though. This is where Lita's  
attention was now focused, although it was hard to see them in the dark.

"Hi. Can I join you?" Jeff asked tentatively.

Lita didn't turn to face him, although she had heard him come out and knew immediately who it was. Instead, she simply answered  
him. "It's your property. You can go where you want."

Jeff sat down on the swing beside his friend. Neither one said anything for a few minutes. Instead they sat while Jeff used his  
toes to swing them gently. Finally, he figured he'd better speak, or they'd be out there all night.

"Li, I just came out to tell you I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings. I never meant to do that."

Lita finally turned to face Jeff. "I know, Jeff."

"It's just, you have come such a long way since your surgery. You were doing so well. And, then Bischoff went and almost had you  
killed."

"Jeff, you're being too dramatic. He didn't try to have me killed."

"You know what, you weren't in the back watching the attack on the monitor. From where I stood, it looked to me like they didn't  
intend for you to get back up – ever. So, I don't think I'm being too dramatic here."

"I'm fine now, Jeff. Thanks in part to you. I'll forever be grateful to you for all you did to help me learn to walk again. I  
can never repay you for that."

"Yes, you can. You can repay me by getting this notion out of your head that you should be the one to bust Bischoff. I don't think my  
heart could take seeing you hurt again."

"I know you mean well Jeff, but that attitude hurts. You are assuming that something bad will happen and that I won't be able to  
control it. We don't know that. And I'm not stupid. I can handle things. I would know if I suddenly get outnumbered or got in a bad  
situation. It's not like I wouldn't be willing to call for backup."

"Lita, we're talking about Bischoff here. A cold, calculating liar and thief. And he's plotting a takeover with pricks like Heyman, Lesnar, and maybe even HHH. These guys are the lowest life forms in the company. Forgive me if I don't want you playing a cat and mouse  
game with them. When this all goes down, trust me, it's going to get physical at some point. These guys are going to be pissed, and  
they are going to seek revenge."

"And as I said, I am prepared for that. My part would be to get the confession out of Bischoff, then I'd be perfectly willing to step  
back and let you boys deal with any fallout. I just want to help. I need to do something to help. I can't sit on the sidelines any  
longer. And this is the perfect way for me to do it."

Jeff sighed, running his hands through his hair. He turned and looked at Lita, pushing a stray hair out of her eyes. She was looking at him with a pleading look, and it was breaking his heart. He rose from his seat beside her and turned to place a small kiss on her cheek. "I'm sorry," he said, turning to head back into the house. Pausing at the door, he turned around towards her again. "It's too dangerous Li. You're safety and well-being is too important to me and the others to do this right now. I promise I'll help you find another way to help out." With that, he turned the door knob and stepped back inside, shutting the door behind him.

Alone again on the porch, Lita raised her hands to wipe the tears that were now flowing unbidden down her cheeks. She knew why Jeff  
and the others felt the way they did and she loved them for it. Just why couldn't they understand why she needed to do this?

Back inside, Jeff was immediately met with three sets of very concerned eyes. "So?" Shane inquired. "Is everything cool now?"

Jeff released the breath he didn't even realize he was holding. "No. I still suck."

"What?" Edge questioned. "C'mon, Jeff. Did you say anything intelligent to her at all?"

"Yes, you moron," Jeff answered. "Look. I explained to her that Bischoff is a liar and a thief, and that if HHH and Lesnar are  
involved, then it really could get dicey. She understands that. She just has an intense need to be an active part of something. I  
think being on the sidelines is just killing her inside."

"So, what happened next?"

"I told her that her safety is too important to us and it's just too dangerous right now. And…" he trailed off, feeling immensely guilty.

"And what?" Shane asked.

"And I'm pretty sure she's out there crying now."

Matt lifted his head up at the statement, the concern evident on his face. Turning around, he left the room, headed for Lita.

"Think he can do any better?" Edge asked.

"I don't know anymore," Shane said. "This whole situation sucks. Maybe we should just let her do it."

Outside, Lita heard the door open once more. She had moved from the swing to the front steps, where she was now sitting. Her knees were gathered up to her chest, her arms circled around them. Tearstains marked her pretty face, highlighted by the moonlight that shone  
brightly in the night sky.

"Penny for your thoughts," Matt said, sitting down beside her on the step.

"Go away, Matt. Please," she said.

"I'd rather sit here with you right now," he answered.

"I'm not really in a social mood."

"I know. Are you gonna be ok?"

"No. I'm not. Apparently, I'm an invalid child who can't take care of herself, let alone help out her friends when they need it the  
most. You know, I'm lucky I don't need you guys to feed me and change my diapers."

"Lita," Matt said. "Now, come on, you know that's not what he said or what any of us meant."

"Yeah, well, what he said doesn't make me feel any better."

"Honey, I know you are feeling incredibly frustrated right now. None of us will ever know what it feels like to be in your shoes  
because it's not happened to us. We said the things we said because we love you and care about you."

"I know that you and Jeff and the others mean well. But, Matt, you're right. You don't know what it feels like to be in my shoes.  
I love what I do, and it was taken away from me when I broke my neck. For almost a year, I've been on the sidelines. An  
unimportant nothing. Not able to work out, compete or anything. They dropped me from the diva photo shoots and everything. It's  
like I didn't exist anymore. But I fought against that. I made sure that they knew I can still contribute. I won the commentator  
spot on Heat. But then the whole fiasco with Bischoff happened, and I'm pushed to the side once again." Once again, tears began to  
silently make their way down her face.

"Please don't cry, Li. You know I can't take that. I never could."

"I can't help it Matt. I feel so, so useless. Like I don't matter anymore. Maybe I should just go away and never return. Maybe that  
would make everyone happy."

"You are not useless."

"But that's how I feel."

"Lita, you are smart, funny, kind and caring. You are a beautiful person, not just on the outside, but on the inside, where it really  
counts. The company is lucky to have you as an employee, and we are so fortunate to have you as a friend."

Lita looked down, not able to look Matt in the eyes. "Aw, you're just saying that."

"No, I'm not. I know we've had our own differences. But Lita, when you agreed to talk with me today, you know, about all the crap we've been going through lately, my heart swelled. I don't know what I would do if you weren't in my life."

"I'm glad we're talking again too." She patted him on the leg, then continued. "Matt, you all didn't even ask me what my idea was for  
busting Bischoff. All four of you immediately shut me down. Every one of you jumped to the conclusion that I wasn't capable, and no  
one even asked what my thoughts were. It's as if because my body is a little slow, my mind is too. Do you know how that makes me feel?"

"You're right. We didn't give you a chance to explain. I'm sorry about that Lita. We just … how do I explain it … it's like you are  
precious to each of us in our own way. I can only speak for myself mind you, but I know that I will always do everything in my power to  
make sure that you are protected." He reached out and stroked her silky red hair lightly. "It hurts my heart to see you in pain. I  
need to make sure no one hurts you."

"Aw, our age old argument rises again, doesn't it? You know, when we were going out, I secretly loved it when you would get all  
protective over me." She smiled, shooting him a coy look. Matt feigned a shocked look, clutching his heart while his mouth dropped  
open.

"You did? Then why did you always give me so much grief over it?"

"Because, it's a double edged sword. Matt, as good as it felt to have someone take care of me, at the same time I can't allow myself  
to become a "damsel in distress". My whole life, I've worked hard to get what I have and where I am. I've stood on my own two feet  
and made my own way. I get scared when I have to rely on someone else."

"I know you do. That's part of the reason why I always feel the need to protect you."

"Funny, isn't it? We always argue about this issue, and it's really very simple."

"So…"

"So, what?" she asked.

"So, tell me your idea. How can you take Bischoff down?"

She looked at him warily. "Matt, don't placate me."

"Lita, I would not do that to you. I sincerely want to hear your idea."

"Well, I figured since I am a commentator on Heat, I have access to everything and everywhere. I can get to see him easier than any of  
you could."

"Yeah, I would agree with that."

"And, if it came down to it, I have certain, um, "assets" that I can use if I have to distract him."

"Lita, stop right there. You wouldn't…"

"No way. Get your mind out of the gutter. I'm talking about just flirting with him, Matt. Maybe show a little more skin than normal. Nothing disgusting. But Matt, I know he's looked at me differently than he has you guys. I've caught him staring at me before."

"What? When? I'll kill him."

"Down, boy. Don't worry. I'm not talking like he's undressed me with his eyes or anything. But I know he's noticed my figure. I could use that if I had to to keep him interested."

"Lita, that's not like you at all. You have always hated when the divas use their bodies to get ahead."

"You didn't let me finish. I'm thinking like what we did to Malenko that time in the hotel room. I thoroughly enjoyed busting that vase  
over top of him." She smiled at the thought.

"Oh ok. You scared me there for a second."

"Well, once I got in to see him, I'd tell him that I had been given some information anonymously to announce on Heat something about  
upcoming plans he had. He'll deny it of course. Then I'll tell him that I figured it out and I'd get him to admit that was what he was  
doing by telling him it won't work. That I'll go to Stephanie with the proof. Once he admits it, then I'll change my tune and tell him  
maybe I'll stay with his team, provided he promises me a job with the new organization."

"Hmm, well that sounds like it might work. But what if he got violent?"

"I figured I could wear one of those wireless mics. You guys could listen in, and if it starts going badly, I can use a code word and  
have one of you interfere and get me out of there."

Matt sat still for a minute, contemplating what she had just said.

"Well Matt? Say something. What do you think?"

Matt reached out and took her hand. "Remember a minute ago when I told you how smart, caring and beautiful you are?"

"Yes," she answered cautiously.

"I forgot to add brave, devious, and crazy to that list." He broke into a smile.

"Gee, just what every girl wants to hear."

"C'mon," he said, pulling her up to her feet, keeping a hold of her hand.

"What?"

"It's getting colder out and you're going to freeze to death. Besides, we need to go inside and explain to the other three why  
you're the best person to coerce the admission from Bischoff."

Lita broke into a wide grin. "Thanks, Matt," she said, going to him and hugging him.

"Anytime, sweetie," he said, hugging her back. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

"Always," she said, heading back into the house.

TBC


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Part Thirteen

To say she was nervous would be the understatement of the year. A week had passed since she had convinced the guys to allow her to go in and confront Bischoff about his plan to take over the WWE. All week long she had trained, walking on her treadmill to strengthen  
her legs while plotting in her mind exactly how she would carry out her task. She was walking almost normally now. Only someone who  
knew her situation would notice the slight limp she carried withher.

Tonight was the pay per view, so both brands were together. The place was jumping, what with twice the number of wrestlers and crew  
milling around backstage. Tonight was also the night they planned to put their own plan into action.

"Hey," came a soft voice from the doorway. Lita jumped, not expecting anyone to enter her locker room.

"Oh my gosh, you scared me to death," she said, turning around to greet the intruder.

"I'm sorry, Lita. I didn't mean to scare you," said Jeff. "But, I think that answers my question of how you're doing."

"Yeah. I'm ok though. Just a little nervous. Don't worry. I'm ready to put Bischoff out of business."

"Well, don't worry one little bit. We're all going to be here for you. Edge and Matt are setting up the listening equipment in their  
locker room now. Only Edge has a match scheduled for tonight and it's late in the schedule, so we're all going to be ready to move in  
if you need us. And, Shane talked to Steph, so she's prepared to bring in Security if we need to."

"I know. I want Bischoff to pay for everything he's done, Jeff. That bastard set me back in my recovery. He has no regard or  
respect for us. He's degrading to women. He's a self-centered, conceited, …"

"Ok, I think I get that you don't care for the man," Jeff interrupted, smiling. "You're going to be great Lita. It's great  
to see the fire back in your spirit again."

"I'll second that," a new voice said. Matt Hardy entered the room and approached Lita and Jeff. He had a small device in his  
hand. "It is good to see you back to your old self again."

"Yeah, well, I feel good now. But I'm going to feel great tonightwhen I see Bischoff hauled out of here."

"That's our girl. Here, we need to put this on you. It's the wireless mic. We'll be able to hear everything that you and Bischoff say. At the first sign of trouble, we're in there. You just concentrate on getting that bastard to spill his guts." Matt walked up to Lita and stood awkwardly, trying to figure out where to attach the mic without touching her in places he shouldn't. "Um, here, hold still while I tape this… on you… somewhere out of view," he mumbled, fumbling with the unit as he held it to several different places around her chest area.

"Matt, there's nothing new there you haven't seen before," she joked with him, taking the unit out of his hands. Matt took a half step  
back blushing.

"I'll do it, bro," Jeff said snickering. "She still owes me sponge baths you know."

"I don't think so, Jeff," Lita said. "Coupons good for sponge baths expire as soon as the patient is able to walk on her own again. And  
shower on her own," she added as an afterthought.

"Why don't we just worry about busting Bischoff and his boys tonight, ok?" Matt asked, attempting to change the subject. "I'm  
really anxious about this going down like we planned."

"Aww, Lita," Jeff whined, still joking. "You promised me sponge baths. Geez, the least you could do then is let me help you with  
your mic."

"Jeff?" Lita asked, pinning the mic out of site underneath her top then securing it with tape.

"What?" he answered smiling.

"Shut up," she said, finishing the job and looking up to smile at him sweetly.

The threesome laughed at the exchange and moved off towards the rear part of the locker room to discuss their plans in more detail. In  
their chatter, none of them heard the soft gasp, nor their locker door then quietly click close again as their eavesdropper scurried off down the hallway, in a rush to share their ill-gotten information.

TBC


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Part Fourteen

Lita stood tensely in front of the door, anxious to get her mission over with, but hesitant to begin. What happened from here would be  
up to her, and she wanted more than anything to be successful. She needed to do this for the boys and for Stephanie, but most of all,  
for herself. This was her chance to prove to herself that she wasn't a washed up has-been, nor was she a fragile flower to be  
handled carefully. She had grown stronger each day, and tonight Bischoff and his cronies would know just exactly how intelligent,  
stealthy, and dangerous she could be. Gaining her confidence back through her moment of self-talk, Lita took a deep breath, squared  
her shoulders and knocked soundly on the door to Eric Bischoff's makeshift office for the night. "Here goes nothing, guys, so wish  
me luck," she said, knowing that her friends could hear her words.

"Enter!" came the gruff response from behind the door.

Back in their locker room, Matt and Jeff Hardy sat tensely, gathered around the electronic listening device. Both of them had a set of  
oversized headphones on, allowing them to hear every word their friend said. At her last statement, Jeff looked up at his brother, who had an intense frown on his face. "She's going to be fine, Matt."

"I know, Jeff. I just want to get this over with."

Jeff nodded, then pressed a switch on the box and spoke, "Hurricane, you copy?"

Shane Helms sat on one of the sound equipment trunks at the far end of the hallway that led to Eric Bischoff's office. He had a set of  
headphones on, bopping his head to music as he held what appeared to be a CD player in his lap. To anyone else, he appeared just like  
any other wrestler not scheduled to perform that night, simply hanging out backstage killing the time. In reality however, Shane wasn't listening to music, but rather was holding a two-way radio designed to look like a walkman. He picked up the disc player, holding it a little closer as he pressed "play" and answered, "Ten-four, my friend. I have a beautiful redhead in my sights. She's outside the door now."

"Great," Jeff said. "Maintain visual contact. We'll radio again in a minute with an update, or buzz us if you see anything happen."

"You got it," Shane said, then returned to bopping his head to the "pretend" music in his ears.

Back in the locker room, Jeff switched the dial one more time and called Edge. "Edge, you copy?"

"I'm here. I'm in Steph's office with her. Say the word and we're ready to move. Just remember, the more time you give us, the  
better." To keep the peace, Stephanie and Eric's offices were on completely opposite sides of the arena.

"The plan's just starting man, Lita's going in. We'll keep you updated."

Jeff switched the dial back to Lita's unit, listening intently as he heard Lita enter Bischoff's office.

"Excuse me, um, Eric?" she said, tentatively stepping inside the room.

Eric Bischoff turned his head towards the pretty redhead, distracting him from what appeared to be an private conversation with Sean "Chief" Morley.

"We're busy here Lita," Morley said rudely. "What do you want?"

"Um, I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I could speak with Mr. Bischoff?"

"I said we're busy, Lita. Is there a problem?" Morley stated, folding his arms across his chest.

"No, no, that's ok, Chief," Eric said, waving his associate off. "It's ok. I'm sure she wouldn't have come here if it wasn't important." Eric stood up and walked around his desk, coming closer to the diva. Lita had to force herself to remain planted where she was, fighting the natural instinct to take a step backward. He reminded her of a slithering snake. She knew there was no way he could see the mic hidden beneath her top, so she put a fake smile on her face.

"Thank you, sir. It is important." She looked over at Morley, not wanting anyone else around for her conversation. "Um, do we think  
we could speak in private? This is kind of personal."

"Of course, Lita," Bischoff said, turning to Morley. "Chief, why don't you step out and get us some coffee if you don't mind. We'll  
continue our conversation later."

Morley looked at his boss with slight disbelief. Lita couldn'tbelieve how pompous he had become. Yeah, he'd always been somewhat  
full of himself, but he'd really gone over the top since he'd joined Raw. She was glad he was leaving the room. Morley just muttered, "Sure, boss. I'll be back in ten," and headed towards the door. He stopped when he reached Lita and boldly stared her down. The redhead held her head high, returning a hard gaze of her own. Lita watched as Sean stepped around her and exited the room.

"So, Lita," Bischoff said, drawing the redhead's attention back to the task at hand. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Well, Mr. Bischoff…"

"Please, call me Eric," he interrupted, pointing towards the chair opposite his desk.

"Ok… Eric," Lita said, forcing a smile. "I'd rather stand, though. Thank you."

"Fine. What's on your mind?"

"Well, as you know, I'm returning to commentate with Coach on Heat this week. I start tonight. He and I are getting together shortly  
to go over what we plan to talk about on air."

"And?"

"And, recently, some documents kind of fell into my lap that I thought might be interesting to share with the public."

"What kind of documents?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I think you might have an interest in these, Eric," she said, holding out the manila folder with the copies from his diary. She passed them to him. He opened the folder, and she watched as an incredulous look appeared on his face.

"Where did you get these?" he demanded.

"They were left for me under my hotel room door one night."

"What? You're lying."

"Nope. They were accompanied by a note that said you had some big plans, and whoever left them for me doesn't agree with them. The  
note suggested I share your info with the general public … on the air. So, Eric," she said, emphasizing his name, "should I? It is a pay per view, so Coach and I will be live tonight."

"This is garbage, Lita. There's nothing here. I want to know though, who stole my diary?" His voice was agitated.

"Oh, but you see Eric," Lita said, stepping closer to his desk now. "I don't think it's garbage. I've looked at that information. Now, I'm no stock broker mind you, but it looks to me like you've had quite a few financial transactions lately." Shereached out and took the folder back out of his hands again, thumbing through the pages. "And, you know, I've researched some of these numbers. They seem to be very close friends of yours. You must have a little Investor's Club' going, huh? You seem to give great advice."

"What are you insinuating, Lita?" He rose to his feet, stepping around the desk to stand in front of her.

"Oh, I'm not insinuating anything, Eric. I don't have to. You're whole plan to take over the WWE is all right here in these pages." She was cut off when he snatched the pages out of her hand. Involuntarily, she gasped.

Back in their locker room, Matt and Jeff listened intently to the conversation. The wheels on the tape recording unit hummed as Lita  
and Eric's conversation was recorded. "C'mon, Lita. Finish it up and get out of there," Jeff mumbled, his hands gripping the table in  
front of him.

"Maybe we should move in," Matt commented, looking at his brother. Jeff didn't answer, just shook his head negatively.

Back in Bischoff's office, Eric snatched the folder back out of Lita's hands. "These don't belong to you," he hissed. "And I'd suggest you just forget about anything you think you might know."

"Now, why would I want to do that? Besides, do you really think I wouldn't make more copies? Now, really. I expected more from you."

"What is it you really want, Lita?" he sneered.

"Are you planning on taking over the company?" she asked outright.

Eric eyed her carefully. "So what if I am? Why would you care?"

"Because," she said, stepping even closer to him. "I want in."

Eric laughed abruptly. "What? You're kidding me. Why would you want that?"

"Well, you see, I've been sidelined as of late with my injury. As you know, you don't wrestle, you don't get paid. Besides, once I  
figured out what you're doing, I figured I could get a nice little raise." She smiled sweetly at her statement, hoping she looked  
convincing.

"Now, Lita. You can't be hurting financially. Isn't your little Hardy Boy taking care of you while you're home nursing your boo-boo? Besides, you start back to work this week."

"Matt broke up with me when he jumped to Smackdown," she said distastefully. "I haven't spoke to him since. Besides, this is about more than money, Eric." Looking him in the eyes, she said, "This is my chance to gain some real power. With you taking over the WWE, I figured you could use someone a little smarter than that bonehead Morley by your side."

Eric reached out and ran his hands through Lita's hair, continuing to brush his hands down her bare arms. Inside, she shivered with  
disgust, but allowed his actions. "I will admit, you are a hell of a lot more attractive than the Chief. But, Lita," he said, bringing his hands back up her arms and across her neck, cupping her face in his hands, "I don't know if I believe you. You've always been such a little goody-two-shoes. I can't believe you'd abandon your ties with the Carolina crew so freely. How do I know you're not setting me up? Prove it to me."

Lita's mind raced as she thought about how to answer him. She didn't want to do anything she'd later regret. She knew she had enough information for Stephanie and the boys on tape, so she struggled to come up with a way to get out of this now, while she still had her dignity and was in one piece.

"Eric, now, I can't believe you don't trust me. I already told you, I'm not with Matt anymore. I do still hang with Jeff. He's a sweet boy, but somewhat clueless. The Carolina crew, as you called it, has basically disbanded over the last year. And I'm smart enough to know that I have to look out for myself." She ran her fingers up his shirt then tapped her fingers against his chest. "I want to be the one in control of my career, Eric. I'm not stupid, in fact, I'm quite the opposite. I'm smart enough to know that to get ahead, I need to align myself with the right people. You're that people."

Eric smirked, looking her up and down as if trying to decide if he believed her or not. Without warning, he reached out and grabbed  
her by the back of the head, pulling her against him as he descended on her, catching her mouth with his. "Hmmpf," was her muffled cry  
as she screamed into his mouth. Lita instinctively fought him, trying to push him away from her. She broke the unwanted kiss, pushing him off as she took involuntary steps backward then turned to move away. As she was wiping her mouth with her sleeve, he caught her arm, spinning her back around and pulling her close to him.

"Let me go, Eric," she said defiantly.

"I don't think so, Lita. You failed the test darling. Real gold-digging women usually love it when I kiss them."

"Ugh. Like who?" she attempted to jerk her arm free again, but he held her tighter applying pressure.

"Like me," came the snide voice entering from around the corner of the room. Victoria entered the room, walking up to stand beside  
Bischoff, rubbing her arm up and down his arm. "I heard part of your plan, you stupid bitch. I came to your room earlier to ask you  
to interview me on air, but you were too busy plotting with Dumb and Dumber. I thought Mr. Bischoff might want to know when his  
employees are being disloyal." She reached up and kissed Bischoff on the cheek before heading for the door. She stopped beside Lita  
and whispered evilly, "Better me in his good graces than you." With that, she turned and exited the room into the hall. Lita shot daggers at the women's champion as she left.

"So, Lita. Your plan failed. So what are we going to do now? You're not going to stop me, and I don't trust you. I'd say we're at an impasse, aren't we?"

"Let me go, Eric. You're hurting me." She knew that statement would probably cause Matt and Jeff to go ballistic, but she didn't  
care. She was angry now. Time to call in the reinforcements. Forcefully, she jerked her arm away from him. Rubbing her sore arm,  
she stood her ground and said, "Sometimes, you just got to live for the moment', ya know? I'll be going now."

_Hardy's locker room_

Matt and Jeff bolted upright. Matt had been sitting hunched over the machine, glued to every word. He hadn't liked how the conversation had turned, but was determined to let Lita handle it on her own as long as he could. But she had just used their code word,  
signaling she needed or wanted help. They had to act now.

Jeff flipped the dial to Shane's frequency and spoke forcefully, "Shane! You copy? Get in there, now! She just called for help! Get her out. We're on our way!"

"Got it," came Shane's reply. He was gone again just as quickly.

Jeff flipped the dial once more. "Edge, it's Jeff. Meet us at Bischoff's office. Lita used the code. We might need backup from you, man." With that, Jeff and Matt tore off their headphones and ran towards their door. Jeff didn't even wait for Edge's confirmation that he'd received the message.

_Bischoff's office_

Bischoff reached out and grabbed Lita by the hair, pulling her back to him. She cried out in pain by the sudden movement. "You're not  
going anywhere," he sneered. "And I'll be needing this," he abruptly reached out and ripped the front of her shirt, revealing the mic taped to her tank top underneath. Lita cried out in surprise as he ripped the listening device from the top she wore underneath her shirt. "We can't have anybody listening, now can we? I saw your little device when I was kissing you."

Lita snarled her nose at the man who held her. "Too late, you moron. I'm sure my friends already have everything they need to put  
you away."

Eric's face turned red as the severity of the situation began to sink in. He tossed the unit into the pitcher of water sitting on his side table and grabbed Lita by the arm, leading her towards the back door of the office. Lita struggled against him, fighting the whole way. "Let me go!" she screamed, but he was much larger and was stronger. She kicked at him with her feet, trying to get away.

Eric's temper got the best of him. He reached out and struck her across the face, jarring her temporarily. "I'm afraid you've got to come with me." With that, he drug her towards the back door.

TBC


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Part Fifteen

Shane Helms tore down the hall at a dead run for Bischoff's office, intent on busting in and rescuing Lita from whatever was going on in  
the room. He didn't know anything except that Lita had used the phrase "live for the moment", the agreed upon code for assistance.  
He skidded to a halt in front of the door and reached out to open it. A strong hand reached out and pulled him back just as he  
twisted the knob.

"Just where you think you're going, freak?" The hand belonged to a very pissed-off looking Sean Morley.

"I… I… I need to see Bischoff….. like now. It's an emergency," Shane answered, shrugging the other man's hand off his own.

"No one sees the boss unless he has summoned you," Morley snarled, stepping in to block the doorway.

"This ain't the freaking Wizard of Oz, man. I'm not here to see the wizard, so get out of my way."

Morley crossed his arms across his chest in defiance. "I said no. He's busy' with a lady if you catch my drift."

That was enough for Shane. The lady he was busy with was Lita and she needed him. "Out of my way, now" he said, seething.

"Try and make me, little green man."

Shane chuckled, then turned as if to leave. Suddenly, he swung back around, catching Morley off guard as he swung at him, hitting him  
squarely in the jaw and knocking him to the floor.

"Lita!", he cried, running into the room. He didn't see her. "Li!" he cried again. He looked around frantically for his friend, but  
found the room empty. Running towards the back area, he searched the locker area and private showers, again to no avail. Looking  
around again, the slightly opened back door caught his eye. "Dammit!" he cursed as he ran his fingers through his hair. The front door violently swinging open and banging against the wall once again drew his attention back towards the front part of the office as the frantic Hardys raced into the room.

"Shane, man, where is she?" an out of breath Jeff Hardy asked, bending over to catch his breath. His brother stood two steps behind him, his face full of concern.

"She's gone. They left out the back door here," he said, pointing to Bischoff's escape route.

"What?" an exasperated Matt asked.

"Bischoff must be with her, guys, or she'd still be here waiting for us if he'd bolted on his own."

"Let's go ge…." Matt started to say, already moving towards the back door. But he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as he was  
suddenly attacked from behind, being thrown head first into the lamp and end table in the corner of the room.

"That'll teach ya, you stupid punks!" shouted the attacker.

A very angry Sean Morley stood in the middle of the room. And he had brought back up with him, in the form of Rosie and Jamal.  
Without thinking, Jeff launched himself at Morley, the two trading punches and rolling around on the floor. Shane and Rosie were going  
at it, with Shane getting the worst of it as Jamal helped his brother pound on the much smaller man. Soon enough, Matt was at himself again and jumped into the melee, pulling Jamal away from Shane and leaping onto the huge man's back. He punched him in the head until Jamal grabbed him from behind, flipping him over his head and powerbombing him to the concrete floor.

The fight continued amongst the six men. Edge then came running into the room, Stephanie right on his heels. Along the way, he'd  
hollered at Shannon and Rey to come with him. Realizing something serious must be happening, the two had joined Edge without asking  
questions, following him and Stephanie to Bischoff's office. The three Smackdown members joined the fight, outnumbering Bischoff's  
goons. Stephanie backed out of the way, knowing she couldn't help without getting hurt. She ran from the room to get Security to stop  
the chaos.

"Where's Lita?" Edge shouted at Jeff, as both men were fighting off Rosie.

"Bischoff," was all Jeff managed to get out as a strong kick knocked him on his backside.

Using the distraction to his advantage, Edge momentarily gained the upper hand on the larger man and speared Rosie to the floor. Getting to his knees, he turned to the fallen Jeff Hardy, who was half-sitting painfully on the floor recovering from the last blow. "Go get her, we got this covered here!" he shouted. Jeff nodded and rose up off the floor, picking Matt up from the ground. Both Hardys raced out the back door and ran into the back corridor, into the maze of hallways to rescue their friend.

But where was Lita?

TBC……


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Part Sixteen

"Stop it, Eric," Lita said, trying to shrug away from Bischoff as he pulled her down the hallway. "This is stupid, let me go."

"Nope," he said, tightening his grip on her arm. "You got me into this, I'm going to use you to help me get out of it."

"How?" she asked, still struggling. "By adding kidnapping charges?"

"Shut up." He turned the corner and pulled her through the hall and out into what looked to be the loading area and docks. The arena  
they were in was huge; so huge this side had virtually been abandoned. The area currently was filled with empty trunks. Lita  
recognized them as the trunks the production crew used to transport the ring and media equipment in.

"Here." He pushed her down between the trunks. She jumped up to run, but he was quicker than her and pulled her back into their  
hiding place. "What happened to your ponytail holder?"

Thinking fast, Lita answered, "I lost it in the office, you moron. You jerked me out of there so hard it came loose. I left it on the  
floor in there."

Bischoff nodded. "Whatever," he said, taking his cell phone out of his pocket. He pressed a few numbers and waited for the person he  
was calling to pick up.

What Bischoff didn't know was that Lita purposefully had pulled her ponytail holder out of her hair, dropping it in one of the hallways  
in an attempt to leave her friends a trail of bread crumbs, so to speak. She knew that if Matt or Jeff saw it, they'd recognize the  
purple and green scrunchy immediately as hers. She had also ditched one of her dangling earrings and each of her bracelets  
intermittently along the way. She prayed now that her hints would help the boys find her.

"Yeah, it's me," Bischoff said tersely into the phone." This whole thing is blowing up fast. No.. no… there's no time for that. Trust  
me on this. Grab the car and pull it around to the loading docks. We gotta get out of here now." With that, he pressed the off button  
on his phone and slid it back into the pocket of his leather jacket.

"You're not going to get out of this Bischoff," Lita said, crossingher arms across her chest.

"Correction, dear. I will get out of this. Because I always get everything I want. Didn't you know that? I've got the McMahon's in  
my hip pocket. They're too stupid to realize they've been pawns in my game. Vince and Linda are out of the country, Shane's off  
managing his little side company, and Steph thinks she's actually my competition. What a hoot!"

"You don't get it, do you? I've got evidence that says otherwise."

"Not for long, sweetie. We're going to take a little vacation while the paperwork settles. I've already launched this plan in motion. You are too late. Tonight was simply the night we were going to let everyone else in on it. When we return, it will be "Bischoff's Wrestling Federation," he said, holding his hands in the air to punctuate each word as if he was seeing an illuminated sign. "What do you think? Should we call it the "BWF"? That kind of has a nice ring to it."

"Your delusional," Lita said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but I'm going to be very, very rich and powerful. You said that yourself. And I was thinking," he said, reaching out to walk  
his fingers up her bare arms, "You'd make a great women's champion for the new fed. All you got to do is treat the new boss nicely,"  
he smirked.

Lita slapped his hands away from her, attempting to stand up, but Bischoff held her in place. "You're a disgusting pig, Eric. You're  
crazy if you think I'd ever do anything with you. Just back off."

He simply chuckled. "Now, now Red. You'll change your tune later. My offer still stands," he said, reaching out and caressing her  
cheek. "They always do," he smiled.

Lita shrugged his hands away from her face. "Do not call me Red," she spat. "That nickname is reserved for the people that I actually  
care about and that care about me."

"Oh, you referring to your little Hardy boys? I'm sure they're down for the count by now sweetie. I informed the Chief to make sure  
they were handled properly prior to your little visit. They're taking nice long naps by now. I believe my instructions were "no less than comatose in the hospital."

Lita gasped involuntarily. No, this couldn't be true. They had planned everything out perfectly. She said a silent prayer for their safety. That damn Victoria, she'd get her after this was all over, no matter who owned the company. If it hadn't been for her, Eric wouldn't have been tipped off.

"Liar," she said coldly, hoping to call his bluff.

"You wish, honey. But I've got the Chief and 3 Minute Warning taking care of business back at the office. Just settle down, our ride out of here will be here momentarily."

_In the Hallway_

"Jeff, which way you think they went?" Matt asked his brother. The frustration was growing as they feverishly ran through the halls,  
checking every locker room as they looked for their friend.

"I don't know man," he answered, running his hands through his colorful hair. "There's at least three different halls here. He could have gone any direction." They were at an intersection point, with three different options of where to go next.

"Look, what's that?" Matt spotted something in the empty hall on the right. That particular hall was empty, so the forgotten item  
looked out of place. He jogged over to the small round cloth. His eyes grew wide as it dawned on him what it was. "Jeff! This way,"  
he hollered to his brother, who joined him.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Look," he said, holding up the ponytail holder. "It's Lita's. I'm sure. They went this way."

Matt clutched the scrunchy is in his hand and took off with Jeff at his side, more determined than ever to find their missing  
friend. "We're coming, Lita. We're coming."

TBC


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Part Seventeen

Lita took in her surroundings, figuring her next shot at escape would be when whoever Bischoff had called showed up with the car at  
the docks. Looking around, she quickly saw her choices would be limited. She could try to get past the docks to the outside area,  
but that would mean getting through Bischoff and this mystery person. That probably wouldn't be successful without a weapon of  
some sort. She could go back the way they came, through the labyrinth of hallways. If she could remember which way was what,  
that would work. Of course at the time, she was more concerned with getting away from Bischoff than memorizing her path. Looking around again, she noticed the steel ladder and steps directly behind her. Where did those lead? Her eyes followed the ladder as it connected to steps to a catwalk of sorts above them. It seemed to be a steel walk suspended above them, probably used by maintenance personnel or as a fire escape or something. She couldn't see where it led to. Hmm, she thought, that could be an option.

She was brought back to the current situation when a late model four door sedan pulled into the loading area. There appeared to be two  
people inside the car. Quickly, she was jerked to her feet by Bischoff and led out into the open area. "Not so tight," she slapped at the man as he pulled her towards the car. She lunged to get away, but that just caused Bischoff to secure her around the waist, and half-carry her towards the car.

"Well, I see you brought a guest," the driver said, getting out of the car. Lita felt her heart sink to her feet as she recognized the  
voice. Stopping her struggle momentarily, she looked directly into the eyes of Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Hunter was joined at his side  
by his current manager, Ric Flair.

"Yeah, I'll explain later, guys, but for now, Lita comes with us."

"I don't get it, boss. Why we need the girl?" Ric asked.

"She and her little friends have some documents I need back," he answered moving his unwilling captive towards the car. "We can use  
her to get them back."

Hunter nodded. "Toss her in the back." He chuckled then, and walked up to Lita invading her personal space. He looked her up and  
down, then settled on her eyes. "Unless you think we should put her in the trunk. I've tangled with this wildcat before." He tapped  
her lightly on the nose for emphasis.

Lita shot daggers at Hunter as she defiantly held her ground. Inside though, she was terrified. There was no way she could escape  
the three of them. She was severely outnumbered. She kept up her icy exterior, returning Hunter's stare. "Bite me, Hunter."

"Anything you want, baby. Maybe later though. We gotta go now." Hunter stepped aside, allowing Bischoff to push Lita towards the  
back passenger door of the car. Hunter walked to the front driver's side, while Flair entered the car on the passenger side.

"Hey, Bischoff, you looking for us?" the loud voice of Matt Hardy interrupted their progress as he and Jeff tore around the corner and  
was running hard for the group at the end of the arena.

"Let her go, bastards," Jeff snarled, lunging himself towards the car. Hunter and Ric leapt out of the car and in a flash were trading blows with the Hardys.

Bischoff had thrown Lita into the backseat when the Hardys made their presence known. Seeing the opportunity, Lita used Bischoff's  
distraction to her advantage. Using both legs, Lita planted her feet on Eric's chest and pushed him backwards, landing on his backside. She scrambled out of the seat and out the door, runningfor the nearest safety. Assessing the situation, she figured the best way to go would be up. She ran for the steel ladder, climbing it quickly to the steel stairs which would lead to the catwalk.

Bischoff was up and after her instantly. "Come back here, Lita!" he snarled. Leaping up, he hoisted himself up the ladder and began  
climbing the stairs after her. He was only a few feet behind her.

Lita's heart raced. She knew she was slower than she normally would be, given her limited strength and recovery. She'd been working  
hard, but still wasn't as quick as she use to be. This was proving to be a small plus for Bischoff. Go, go, go she willed her legs to carry her up the stairs faster. She used her arm strength on the rails for additional support and to spur her along. Finally, she reached the top, pausing just a moment to catch her breath, afraid her rubbery legs would betray her. She leaned just a second on the rail and looked behind her. Damn! He's still coming. She took off again, running along the steel catwalk floor. The floor was made in an open pattern, meaning there were small open slats behind each joist, allowing her to look down to the concrete floor so far below. She willed herself not to look down and ran hard for any type of exit point.

_On the floor_

Matt was fighting Flair with everything in him, trading blow for blow. His body was tired and hurting, but there was no way he could  
give up now. They'd found Lita and he wasn't about to let her slip away again. He wasn't sure exactly where she was at the moment, he  
knew she'd made a run for it. Flair wasn't exactly giving him the chance to stop and look around.

On the other side of the car, Jeff was taking a beating from "The Game". Hunter was manhandling the younger Hardy, given he was much larger than him. Hunter picked Jeff up and beat him in the face then dropped him to the floor. Using his agility, Jeff swept his  
legs under the larger man's, effectively dropping him onto his back on the floor. Quick as a cat, he was on him, giving back to him the  
beating Hunter had been giving him earlier. He looked up suddenlywhen he heard a thunderous crash. He couldn't see, partly because  
he'd been busted open and blood was dripping in his eyes. He hoped the crash hadn't been caused by Matt being tossed into the storage  
trunks. His pause was enough to give Hunter a chance to gain the upper hand, and the two refocused on their fight once again.

"Ugh," Matt groaned as he climbed slowly to his knees. The wind had been knocked out of him as Flair had pushed him unmercilessly into the equipment trunks. Man, but did that hurt. He felt a burning sensation in his ribs and chest. Great, he thought, two or three  
cracked ribs. Looking over at Flair, he noticed the older man getting to his feet slowly, catching his own breath. Matt began to  
push the trunks out of his way, intent on getting upright again and attacking Flair again before he could set in on Jeff. A metallic glint caught his eye behind a trunk. Pushing it away, it was if someone had given him the golden scepter; for there lay a perfectly good folding chair. Matt grabbed the new weapon and rose to his feet, intending to put an end to this madness now.

_On the catwalk_

Lita heard the loud crash, the sound reverberated on the cement walls and echoed off the ceiling tiles. She paused, looking over the rail for a glimpse of what had happened. She saw her ex-boyfriend laying in a heap amongst a pile of broken and scattered trunks. Flair was a few feet away, bent over and breathing hard. "Matt! NO! Please, be ok. Are you alright?" she cried.

"Too late for him, Lita!" shouted Bischoff. He'd reached the top of the stairs and was stalking her menacingly.

His presence got her attention, and she whipped her head around and gasped. "No!" she cried and took off running again. But her trek  
was short-lived; she rounded a corner and within twenty feet reached the end of the road. The catwalk had been blocked off, the path turned into a storage area for lighting equipment and other assorted boxes. Lita attempted to move one of the boxes in an attempt to get past the road block. Unfortunately, the box was way to heavy for her to even budge. "No, no, no" she screamed in frustration, kicking the obtrusive object for emphasis.

"Ah, I see we've reached the end of the yellow brick road, haven't we?" Bischoff said, standing cockily a few feet away.

_On the floor_

"Crack!"

Flair fell to the floor unconscious as Matt stood over his limp body. The chair had done what it was supposed to, taking the former  
World Champion down and putting him out.

"Nighty, night, Ric," Matt gloated. "See you in a little while". Matt stepped over his body and locked eyes with his brother, who was  
currently trading punches with Hunter. Hunter's back was to Matt.

"Give … up… now… Hunter," Jeff seethed. "Or .. else..." He was out of breath.

"Or what, freak? You gonna hurt me? Keep trying," Hunter grunted back.

"Ok, don't say I didn't warn you," Jeff said, and ducked an oncoming punch.He spun around and bolted behind Hunter. Hunter turned  
around, just in time to see Jeff standing behind his brother, who held a steel chair above his head. He had a very pissed-off look on  
his face.

"Crack!"

_On the catwalk_

"Don't come near me, Bischoff," Lita said, holding her hand out as if to stop him from approaching. He took slow, purposeful steps  
towards her speaking with spite as he went.

"Or what? You gonna tell on me? You've already tried that, bitch." He took another couple steps closer.

"I'm warning you, Eric. Stop now. You don't want to mess with me." She moved away from him as far as she could, bracing herself  
against the edge of the railing. She had literally no where else to go. Her mind raced. It was fight vs. flight and her option for flight had disappeared. Lita steeled herself to fight if she had to.

"Oh, but Lita. I do want to mess with you. You have become a major pain in my side. And I intend to end the pain." With that, he  
bolted towards Lita.

Lita screamed as Eric rushed at her. She wasn't sure if it was her natural instincts, an adrenaline rush, or all her wrestling training that kicked in, but she went on autopilot. Eric rushed her, his arms raised, intending on grasping her around her neck and choking her. Before he could get a grasp on her, Lita countered. As he ran at her, she used his momentum, reaching down to his waist, planting  
her feet and lifting him up and over her shoulder, tossing him into the air. It was a move she'd used on her in-ring opponents many  
times in the past. Eric waved frantically as his body left the safety of the catwalk. He plummeted over the edge of the catwalk, a  
pile of trunks and boxes splintering into hundreds of pieces as he landed on them below. Lita clasped a trembling hand over her mouth  
as she looked at his body lying in a heap below, unmoving. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Her legs then finally gave  
in, and she crumbled to the steel catwalk in a heap, tears streaming down her face.

TBC...


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Part Eighteen

"Ouch! Ow, man, watch where you stick that. It hurts," Jeff swatted the bandage away that Edge was trying to affix to a  
particularly nasty cut over his right eye.

"C'mon, Hardy, suck it up. It's just a little scrape. Want me to kiss it and make it better?" Edge asked, smiling widely. He knew  
from his own experiences that those types of little scrapes tended to hurt like heck when antiseptic was applied. And Jeff's wasn't  
really a scrape anyway. It was a full blown cut that had finally stopped bleeding, thanks to the gauze pads the EMTs had left behind  
for them. The younger Hardy had begged off any treatment, saying he was fine.

"Don't you even think about it," Jeff retorted. "Don't you think I've been through enough torture today?"

The team had reassembled in Stephanie's office, although right now the office looked more like a makeshift mash unit. The EMTs had  
just left, having tended to the Hardys, Edge, and Shane. Shannon and Rey hadn't been too hurt, they'd both left to go back to get  
ready for their matches more than an hour ago, as the pay per view was well under way. Stephanie had just left with the two police  
detectives, escorting them out of the arena. They'd spent the better part of the last hour and a half recounting their stories and  
giving their statements to the officers.

Matt cast a glance over at Lita, who sat quietly on the couch. She appeared to be really into looking at her fingernails at the  
moment. She hadn't said much of anything, except giving her version of what happened to the officers. She had choked up a little when  
she told them about how Eric had kidnapped her, attempted to attack her, and how he ended up plummeting over the edge to the cold  
concrete below. But to her credit, she hadn't cried anymore since he and Jeff had helped her down from the catwalk and away from the  
scene. He finished pulling his t-shirt over his taped up ribs and walked over to his sullen friend.

"Mind if I sit here?"

She looked up and half-smiled, then patted the seat beside her. Matt sat down gingerly beside her and lifted his arm and placed it  
around her shoulder in a comforting move. Lita leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder, accepting his gesture. Matt winced  
a little at the slight jostle to his sore ribs.

"Oh, Matt," she said, sitting upright instantly, "I'm sorry. Are you hurt bad?"

"Nah," he said. "It's ok. Nothing a couple days off won't take care of. I've had worse."

Lita turned to look him in his eyes. "You scared me to death, you know," she said. He looked a little puzzled. "I looked down from  
the top of that walk to see you laying unmoving after that big crash. I didn't know if you were ok or not. Don't ever do that,  
ever again. Ok?"

Matt chuckled slightly, then reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "Ok, I promise. But, you know, I could say the same for  
you, you know. No more Spiderman moves from you and we'll be even."

"Ok," she simply said, then settled back in the couch again, content to lean her head against the back of his arm. It made her feel safe  
after so much chaos.

Stephanie came back in the room then. "Ok, gang," she said, getting their attention. She looked around, missing someone. "Where's  
Shane?"

"He went to check on," Jeff started, glancing at Lita, then changed his words. "He went to make a couple phone calls. He'll be back in  
a minute."

Stephanie nodded, accepting Jeff's answer. "I think everything's squared away now with the police. They are satisfied with all your  
stories and will be able to use your information to press charges."

"What was the end result, Steph?" Edge asked, settling into the chair behind her desk.

"Well, Flair and my wonderful ex-husband will be spending the night and hopefully more than that with our friends at the county police  
department. They are being charged with assault, conspiracy to embezzle and as accomplices to kidnapping," she said, looking  
towards Lita. The word "kidnapping" seemed to make Lita very uncomfortable. Stephanie continued, "And of course, they will both  
be collecting unemployment in the very near future."

"What about the others?" Jeff asked. "Were they arrested too?" Jeff got up from his position on the floor and moved to make himself  
more comfortable on the couch beside Lita. He reached out and took her hand in his.

"Well, Bischoff will face the same charges, once we know…" Stephanie began, but stopped, looking carefully for the right words.

"Once we know if I killed him or not," Lita said with a guilty tone. She put her free hand over her eyes, pushing on them as if to  
relieve pressure of some sort.

"Lita," Matt said, reaching out and pulling her hand away from her face. "Look at me. You don't know that."

"I don't know that I didn't" she countered.

"Li," Jeff said. "What happened to Bischoff isn't your fault. The man was trying to hurt you. You acted in self defense, which is  
perfectly normal."

"Exactly," Matt said. "Please don't blame yourself for this. If you do, then he still wins."

"They're right, Lita," Edge added. "Please listen to them."

Lita blew out her breath and sighed audibly. "I know. It just doesn't feel very good. I mean, we fight people and hurt each other  
in the ring all the time, but I'd never want to end someone's life. It's just, I heard his scream as he fell and the sound his body made  
when he hit. I don't… I don't think I'm going to sleep very well tonight."

"Lita," Stephanie said, her voice sympathetic. "The guys got you out of there before the EMTs left with him. I was there. He was  
alive when they took him out. He's going to live," she said, then added, "and I can't wait to land his ass in jail for what he's done."

"Let's change the subject," Jeff said, attempting to help Lita get her mind away from Bischoff. "What about the other losers?"

"Well, I've suspended Rosie and Jamal. We don't think they were actually aware of what Eric was doing. They were just his hired  
thugs. Sean Morley also is getting his pink slip . I don't know yet how much he knew, so I'm not taking any chances."

"What about Brock and Heyman?" Matt asked.

"Believe it or not, Brock's story to the police was credible. And his name or number wasn't in any of Eric's documents, so I have no  
grounds to fire him … yet."

"Great," Jeff said. "I'll keep getting my ass kicked by those F5's of his." Most of the room laughed at his comment.

"I don't trust him though," Steph said. "Not at all. I'll be watching him close."

"What about Heyman?" Edge asked. "You didn't say what happened to him."

"Yeah, well, that's cause the slime took off. He's definitely in on it. The police are looking for him, but it seems he bolted when  
everything started happening."

"Do they think he's dangerous?" Matt asked.

"With Heyman, anything's a possibility."

Lita's mind swirled as they discussed Heyman. What if he came after her for revenge? What if he attacked one of her friends? Her  
brow furrowed as she considered the possibilities.

"Li," Matt said and she turned her attention to the elder Hardy brother. "Don't worry, baby. We're not going to let him anywhere  
near you. You're safe."

"I know, I know. But what if he tries to hurt you guys?"

"Lita, we can handle ourselves," Jeff said.

"And, Lita, they have friends who'll watch their back you know," Edge added smiling.

"Ok, ok. You are all right," she said, relaxing somewhat.

Edge looked up at the clock and wall and cursed under his breath. "Ok, guys, I'd love to stay, but I got a match coming up  
soon. I need to go stretch."

"What?" Lita said, sitting upright. "You're going to fight tonight?"

"There's a pay-per-view going on, remember? Kurt Angle's expecting me to be there, so I'm going."

"Oh my goodness," she said, a new realization hitting her. "I totally forgot. I was supposed to host Heat tonight with Coach."  
She rose to her feet.

"Hey, it's ok, Lita. You were covered," Stephanie said. "D'Lo stepped in for you. Everything was fine."

"Thanks," she said, "smiling somewhat. "I feel really stupid for forgetting about it though."

"You were a little bit busy, Li," Jeff joked with her.

"Well, wish me luck guys," Edge said, excusing himself from the room. He heard a chorus of well wishes as he left. As he was  
leaving, Shane entered the room. "Hey," he said, making his entrance.

"Did you find anything out?" Matt asked. Shane nodded affirmatively.

Matt looked at Lita and patted the seat between he and Jeff. He wanted her close by as Shane gave them news, good or bad. The  
redhead rejoined the Hardys, sitting down between her friends. Jeff reached out and put his hand on her leg, knowing she was  
apprehensive about what Shane was going to tell them.

"The hospital information lines are not staffed by friendly people," Shane said. "You'd think they'd hire people with some semblance of  
customer service skills for that type of position…" he rambled.

"Shane!" Stephanie said. "Please, what did you find out?"

Shane looked at Lita, who had an almost scared look on her face. He knew she'd been taking Bischoff's injury hard, although he couldn't  
fathom why. The bastard had tried to kill her. She should be happy she'd knocked him off his butt.

"The lady finally put me through to someone who'd tell me something. By the way, the hospital thinks I'm your Dad, Steph."

Steph nodded. "Yeah, ok. Whatever."

"Eric was knocked unconscious by the fall, understandably. But he was stabilized quickly and was even breathing on his own by the time  
they got to the hospital. The bastard's gonna live to see his day in court."

"Thank God," Lita said, falling back into the couch. Relief flooded through her whole body. "As much as I hate him, I didn't want to  
see him dead by my hands."

"Yeah, well, speak for yourself," Shane said. "There's more though. He does have two severely broken legs and is in surgery as  
we speak. We're talking pins, screws the whole bit. He's going to be confined to a wheelchair until they heal properly, and then will  
face a couple months of physical therapy to learn how to walk again."

"Wow," Jeff said, "Look at the irony in that. Bischoff caused Lita to lose her ability to walk and be forced to learn to walk again.  
Now, thanks to her ability to defend her life, he's going to have to go through the same pain and suffering she did. There is poetic  
justice in this life."

Matt noticed the blank look on Lita's face and reached out and took her hand, squeezing it softly. "You ok, Li?"

She turned to look at him. "You know," she said, squeezing his hand back, "I am. I'm going to be fine. He deserves what he's about to  
get. I hope it gives him a new appreciation for how he treats people."

"I think it will," he said.

"Well," Stephanie said, "I for one am very happy with the outcome to this little escapade. I can't thank you all enough for what you've  
done for the company. But I'm going to try, starting with the appropriate celebratory dinner for everyone. What do you say?"

"I think it sounds great!" Shane grinned. "When do we leave?"

"I think it sounds good, too," Lita said. "But count me out tonight. I just want to go back to the hotel and try to sleep. I'm  
exhausted."

"Understandably," Stephanie said. "I'll make arrangements for another day. And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check with the  
production folks on how our show's going. You are now looking at the general manager for both Raw and Smackdown. I'll see you all  
tomorrow."

"Good night, Steph" Jeff said on behalf of the remaining members of the room.

"You want to go to the hotel, Lita? You do look tired," Matt commented, pushing a few stray hairs away from her face.

"Yeah, do you mind?" she asked.

"I'll go get your stuff for you Lita," Shane volunteered. "I live for any opportunity to enter the Diva's locker room.

Lita laughed softly. "Be careful, Shane. The diva's aren't very keen on unwelcome guests."

"I do love a challenge," he said smiling. "You guys go on. I'll meet you back at the hotel and drop off Lita's stuff for her."

"Ok," Matt said. "Thanks, man. Bring it to our room. She's staying with us tonight."

Jeff turned to Lita and Matt. "I'll go get our stuff too, Matt. You take Lita on to the car. I'll meet you there." Matt nodded to  
his brother. "But, before I go," Jeff said, a sly grin coming to his face, "I have a bone to pick with Miss Thing, here."

"Who, me?" Lita asked innocently, knowing he was joking with her.

"Yes, you. I seem to recall you telling Bischoff that, and I quote 'Jeff's a sweet boy, but he's clueless really.' In the words  
of our friend Shane, What'supwithdat?'"

Lita laughed out loud at her friend. "You heard that? Oh, silly me, I guess you did hear that. I'm sorry, Jeff," she said covering  
her mouth to stifle a giggle. "I had to come up with something to tell him."

Jeff rose from the couch and leaned back down, kissing the redhead softly on her cheek. "Uh huh," he said, heading for the door. "You  
just better be glad that I love you so much." He paused at the door, "and I'll be thinking about how you can make it up to me  
too." He turned again and exited.

At that moment, Lita realized what the young man was referring to and yelled after him, "Oh no you don't Jeff Hardy! You better not  
EVEN be thinking about sponge baths!" She and Matt heard laughter echoing from the hallway.

Matt rose to his feet, pulling the redhead up with him. "Lita, I'm so glad you're ok," he said, his tone turning serious once again.

"Me too, Matt. I was worried about you guys too. I still am. Heyman's still out there you know."

"Remember our conversation a few weeks ago about protecting each other Lita?" She nodded.

"Just remember it works both ways. You look out for me and Jeff, and we'll look out for you. Heyman is not going to be a threat.  
You understand?"

"Yeah, thanks Matt." She leaned in and gave him a long hug. He held her in his arms, cherishing the way she felt. He reluctantly  
let her go.

"Matt," she began hesitantly. "About us…"

"I know, Lita." He said, making what he thought she wanted to tell him easier for her to say. "One day at a time, starting with  
friendship. I'm perfectly ok with that."

"Thanks," she said, "thanks for everything. I don't know what I'd do without you." She started to tear up again, thinking about how  
much both Hardys meant to her.

"Hey now, none of that. You know what that does to me. Let's just focus on the future, ok? There's a great big one out there for you  
now. Let's go get it started."

Lita reached up on her tiptoes and kissed Matt softly on his lips. "I'm ready," she said. "I can't wait to see what my future  
holds." With that, they headed for the door to go meet Jeff, their hands intertwined.

Lita turned around one last time, looking at the empty office. "Yes, I'm definitely ready to face the future."

Fin.


End file.
